The End of the World
by blackbeltchic
Summary: PREVIOUSLY The End of the World and the Beginning of the Rest of her Life. While Buffy's getting antsy about the lack of demons, the Charmed ones are getting frustrated with the overabundance of demons, and Cordelia's sick and tired of getting visions.
1. Chapter 1

The End of the World Rewritten  
Part One

**Disclaimer**: In no way do the characters mentioned in the following chapters belong to me.  
**Author's notes:** This story starts off right after Wyatt was born by a few weeks. In BtVS, we know very little about the First. And on A:tS, well, Angel never went bad. And Cordy's not the Beast Master, and there's no Jasmine. Because when this was written, we didn't know that. This was written mostly within the week between the episodes when Wyatt was born, and when we knew his name!  
Oh, if you've read this previously on it's getting a bit of a makeover. I now know more about writing, so I'm gonna try to improve it a bit! Can't say how much improvement, but there will be some!

For this story, Sunnydale is where Sunnyvale California is, and San Fransisco and Los Angeles are in the same spot.

**Sunnydale  
Summer's Residence**

"So, Will, how's the recuperating going?" Buffy asked her long time friend Willow Rosenberg as she came into her room. Willow was just finishing meditating. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon, and she could hear the girl's in the backyard through the open window.

"Good. I even did a tiny search online the other day, for practicing groups in town. There were a few that seemed interesting, I might eventually get up the nerve to check them out. Any news on The First, any new demon that needs its ass kicked?"

Buffy laughed, "Nope, no new news. It's been wicked quite, too quiet, if you ask me. I'm always partial to kicking some demon ass myself."

"Yeah," Willow agreed with her friend.

**Los Angeles  
Angel Investigation**

"Angel, there's something demonic going on in San Francisco," Lorne told his boss.

"What type of demonic activity?" Angel asked, slightly concerned, but not too much, it wasn't his town, wasn't really his responsibility. He couldn't do anything about it right now anyway, the sun was up, a bright and sunny Saturday.

"Seems demon or magical. Seems like an all out war."

"ANGEL!" A shaky voice screamed from upstairs.

"Cordy? What's wrong?" Angel called, he felt himself grow more concerned and worried than he was before, mostly because of the tone in her voice, and the scent she was giving off. _ As if I'll ever tell her, that I get concerned when she starts smelling differently! _

"I had one of the strangest visions ever! I was in this very nice house, in a...solarium. Right in front of me, was this huge, horned demon. He was looking at...no, through me, to whatever was behind me. There was a burst of magical light, that grew in strength, like it was added to, it was so bright it almost blinded me, then, poof, the demon exploded," she said, coming unsteadily down the staircase.

"Strange, normally it's people who need help, not people who know what they're doing," Lorne stated the obvious.

"I know. And I had the, strangest of all, the _feeling_ of being safe, being in control. Oh, and right before the demon was vanquished, a guy appeared, to my right, I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He was holding a tiny baby. On it's nightclothes, there was a strange symbol. It looked like this…" She grabbed a sheet of scrap paper, and started drawing.

"I've seen it before, but it's not ringing any bells to why a demon would have this symbol," Angel said, peering over her shoulder as she drew, "I can't remember what it is," Angel said, aggravated.

"Me either," Lorne put his two cents in.

"WES!" Angel bellowed.

"Yes?" Wesley came into the room, followed closely by Fred and Gun.

"Look this symbol up for me."

"Right."

"Gun, Fred, hold down the fort for awhile, will ya?"

"Angel, where are you going?" Gun's "k" was drowned out by Fred's question.

"San Francisco." With that, Angel swept out of the room.

**San Francisco  
Halliwell Residence**

"Look at that window!" Piper complained, "That's like the 100th time it's been broken!"

"Maybe we should just board it up. Plywood costs less than glass," Paige joked.

"Well, miss smarty pants, you can clean it up! Come here, sweetie!" This last part was directed at her baby boy.

"Well, nice to see you all again, I'm off to work," Phoebe joked, as she grabbed her coat.

"Ok, fine," Paige sassed her older sister, "That demon was ...kinda tough."

"Well, I've seen worse, but that was the third demon this week! Things are getting kinda hairy."

"Yeah. Hey, Leo, have the Elders said anything about anything going on? There are excess demon's to go around!" Paige exclaimed as Leo came into the room, with a drink in his hand.

"None that I've heard of."

"Could you ask, there is something really strange going on, and it's getting dangerous," Piper said, snuggling her son close to her chest. For once, she was more afraid for someone else's safety, besides her sisters', than her own. She pulled over the bouncy seat, brushing out any stray dust bits, before settling him in it. She had thought that sending that message via the old crone would stop the demon attacks for awhile.

"I can try." With that, he orbed out.

"Thank you!" Piper called, knowing he could hear her.

**Sunnydale  
Summer's residence**

"Giles, this is getting strange! Stranger than normal!" Buffy complained later that day.

"What is? I haven't heard of anything lately."

"That's what I'm saying! It would be nice to be able to train the girls on something besides Spike! He's still not his old self, after having his chip removed. He's getting mopey, and he doesn't even try to fight back, like he still had the chip in!"

"And I'm thankful for that."

"You know what I mean! I mean since before he got the chip out! I don't want him like he was before, with no leash!" _Though, I don't know if he'd kill me, and the others, or not. He's changed, even without his soul. I just don't know how much. _

"I'll recheck my books, see if I missed anything, about why the demons might have vanished. But I don't think I find anything."

"Ok, thanks," Buffy said, walking out of the room, to check on the girls.

**Los Angeles  
Angel Investigations**

"Angel."

"What do you want, Cordy?"

"I want to go with you. I know that you can take care of yourself, but you don't know what you're getting into. It could be dangerous."

"Which is why you should stay here."

"It's just as dangerous here as it will be there, it might even be safer."

"Please stay here. I have enough to do, I don't want to have to protect you, too."

"Well, I can take care of myself, Mr. Hotshot, and I want to go. Please, I've never been to San Francisco, and I know this isn't a sight seeing tour."

"Fine, hurry up! The sun is almost set. We need to hurry, so we can make good time."

"Oh, Thank you, Angel!" On impulse, she ran up to his, and kissed his cheek, then ran out. Angel felt his insides flop, like they used to when Buffy was around, and he tried to get himself under control in a hurry. _ Remember what she did, or better yet, who she did. She doesn't love you, she slept with your son._

**Sunnydale  
Summer's residence**

"Buffy! Buffy, I was meditating, and wow, I felt the most amazing power!" Willow cried, rushing down the stair, trying to get her breathing to calm. The power had invigorated her for some reason, and she didn't like how it made her feel, all giddy, like before. It was Sunday, and she had also done a ritual, because it was, well, Sunday. "It was tugging me north. It flared to a huge crescendo, then it dissipated, but if I concentrate, I can still feel it. It's still there." _Maybe it's always been there, and you weren't attuned enough to the forces, that you couldn't feel it a_ voice mocked her, the voice that had made it all too easy to kill Warren, and to hurt her friends. _I won't listen to you!_ she told it.

"Will, could you follow it, are you up to following it?"

" I think-I know I could. And I feel fine, don't worry about me."

"I couldn't go with you, but Giles would most likely be willing, you could ask him."

"No, I'll be fine, I can take care of myself. I promise I'll be careful, And I'll bring supplies, just in case."

"I'd rather Giles went with you, but I can't force you to take him. Just be extra careful. The First is out there somewhere, it could be trying to drag you away from me, to its side."

"Don't worry, I'll be extra careful." Yet she was unnerved, Buffy had voiced her deepest thoughts. _The First has tried to do you in before, your obviously important, what if it want's you were on its side? _

_NO! Don't think about it! It will never happen, you are with the people that you love, the people who love you! You won't throw that away again! _

_But what would it be like, to be on the First's side? It wanted Andrew to do it's bidding, what if it wanted you? _

_NO! You are on the side of GOOD! That's where you started, that's where you'll stay!_


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

**Los Angeles  
On Interstate Five, Northbound  
**

"Angel, do you know exactly where you're going?" Cordy asked, as he changed to a faster lane.

"No, I'm trusting my instincts here. I have a friend in San Francisco, he might know what's going on. He had better not be involved, though," he muttered the last part darkly to himself.

"Is he..." Cordelia asked, rather uncertain of herself...she had no right judging his friends.

"Demon. But not a vamp. He helped me out awhile back, before I went to L.A., right after Sunnydale."

**Sunnydale  
Willow's room**

_How should I go about this? I have no clue what I'm getting myself into! Am I really ready to do something of this magnitude? _ Willow wondered. _ This power I sense, It's big, no huge! Anybody, anything could have that type of power, good or evil. I had that much power. _

_And you'll never have that type of power again! _

_I don't want that type of power! I never did, I never will again! _

_Yes, you do, deep inside, you do. You want to know what it feels like again. _

_No! I don't, LEAVE ME ALONE! I don't want to listen to you! LaLaLa… I can't hear you! _

_You know that I know that doesn't work. I'm inside your head. _

_Get OUT! OUT OUT OUT! I have to concentrate! _

_Maybe I should ask Giles. No, he's busy, with the First, and with the girls, he has no time to go on a wild goose chase. I'm not even sure if I want him knowing. Is being able to _feel _power good, or evil? What would he think? He knows that I've repent. He knows what side I'm on. _

_And you don't even know! _ It taunted.

_Yes, I know what side I'm on, I am on Buffy's side. _

_What side is she on? She's died, and come back, what if she just want's to give up, what if she doesn't care? _

_But she does! She cares about this fight, and about me! Get out of my head! I'm not going to listen to you! _

_It might be nothing, a figment of my imagination, this power I feel. Yet, it could be something to do with the first. _

_Well, I might as well bring some supplies with me. And I promised Buffy I would bring some weapons,_ she thought as she packed crystals of different sizes, candles of assorted colors, assorted herbs, and **_her_ ** crystal. She also packed enough clothes for a week, and two stakes, two mini crosses, as well as the one that was nailed to her wall when Angelus was around, and plenty of Holy Water. She grabbed her stash of cash, just in case she needed it. She also unplugged her laptop, that had been charging, as well as her cell phone, and packed those. She looked around her room, _ Is there anything I've forgotten? Nope. _She took the key to her door out of her drawer, then she walked out. She turned and locked her door. _Dawn used to borrow things without returning._ She was ashamed at herself for thinking such a thought. _She was just going through a rough time, with her mother gone, and Buffy being so distant! _Even though she tried to trust Dawn, the door stayed locked.

**San Francisco  
Halliwell house**

"Anything?" Piper asked once Leo had returned.

"Hello to you too. Hi sweetie!" he kissed his son's tiny head.

"Sorry, just, you know, anxious."

"They either don't know anything, and or won't tell me anything."

"Dang!"

"Yeah, sorry."

"That's ok." She kissed her husband, to show no hard feelings. The baby, in between his mother and father, started to whimper. "Oh, he's hungry." She went off to breast feed her son.

**Highway outside of San Francisco**

"Ok, Angel, once we get into a more populated part of town, we have to stop."

"Why?" He asked, slightly perturbed to be stopping when he was so close, and the sun would be up in three hours, he could smell it. They hadn't left until around eleven, and the drive was over five hours long.

"Because I said so. Trust me. We have to stop. Do you know where your friend lives?"

"I have an idea."

"Then when we stop, you get directions."

"Wherever would I be without you, Cordy?" he asked, sarcastic.

"Lost."

**Sunnydale  
Bus Station**

"One north bound ticket, please," Willow asked the woman behind the counter

"What city?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well, the buses go as north as Portland Oregon, then they head towards the East Coast on Interstate 84."

"Then I guess I'm going to Portland. Could I have a round trip ticket?"

"Yeah," she popped her gum.

"Is the ticket good for anytime, I'm not sure how long I'm staying. And I'm not totally sure where exactly I'm going."

"You can get off at any stop. You can get back on the bus, and either continue, or return. The ticket is good for thirty days after it is bought."

"Ok, thanks, I don't think I'll be gone that long!"

"Your welcome, Miss," she said, bored.

**San Francisco  
Floral Shop**

"Much better. Did you get directions?"

"Yeah. Cordy, it's two hours before sunrise, could we hurry?"

"Do you want me to drive?"

"Sure. Cordy, what's in your hair?" Angel asked, eyeing the bright yellow daffodil in her hair, tucked behind her ear.

"Don't tell me you went to the ballets, yet you didn't go to an opera?" she asked, sounding playful, yet scornful. _Only she could manage to sound two totally different ways at once._ Angel thought, amused.

They drove in silence for awhile, deep in their own thoughts.

Angel started laughing quietly.

"What's so funny, Mister?"

"I was just remembering the last time I saw my friend. He really helped me through some of my darkest hours. We were going through the same thing. He was good by choice. He was going to be 'kinged' for this group of evil demon's, and his girlfriend, who was going to have his baby, was to be his evil queen. I didn't get details, but she found out that he was evil, as well as his child within her, and with the help of her sisters, she sent him to hell. He had just made his way back when I met him. He was trying to get her back. She said she was over him.

It was just like me and Buffy, sort of. We were supposed to be friends, but it doesn't work that way, it didn't work then, it will never work. Spike showed us that," Angel reminisced, "I wonder if she ever took him back?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Interstate Five  
On the Bus**

_I'm getting closer, it's getting stronger. I can feel it, deep within me. It's so strange, this new power of mine. I wonder when I acquired it? How long have I had it, and not realized it? Before I went bad? After? There's no way of knowing now. _

Willow pulled out her laptop, to pass the time, she played Solitaire, FreeCell, Hearts, and Minesweeper. She couldn't go online, because there was no jack. She also went through the many files on her computer.

_So much information, too bad none of it will help us, with this mission, or with the First._

She looked at all the pictures she had scanned in. They were all from happier times. Many of her and Tara, Buffy and Riley, her and Oz, Xander and Cordelia, and he and Anya, Yet none of Buffy and Spike or Angel, camera's couldn't pick them up, just like mirrors.

**San Francisco**

Once the bus stopped in San Francisco only about a half an hour after she got on, she got off, to look for a city bus. She instinctively knew that her search was almost over; the source of the power was here, in this city, somewhere. She chose a seat in the very back corner of the bus, put her stuff on the seat next to her, trying to discourage people from sitting there. She pulled out _Her_ crystal, and got to work. Here was the tricky part, she needed to concentrate her hardest or it wouldn't work. The crystal was spelled to sense magical power. Tara had helped her cast the spell; Giles had found it. Every once in awhile, after great use, she needed to recast it, but that was easy for her, now. If she hadn't been concentrating, she would have noticed how packed the bus became; it was rush hour, and people were rushing home to put fod on the table.

"Excuse me, could I sit here?" Willow was shaken out of her concentration. The crystal glowed a bright, bright blue, brighter than Willow had ever seen it, then it winked out, her lost concentration the cause. She looked up at the woman looking expectantly down at her.

"Huh? What? Oh, yeah sure!" She quickly moved her bag from the seat into her lap, covering her crystal.

"What were you doing?" the woman asked.

Willow frowned inwardly, "What do you mean?" Willow asked, trying to distract the woman.

"You were doing magic. I saw your crystal glow, then fizzle out. What were you doing?"

"Yeah...I was doing magick," she stalled.

"Were you searching for something?" she asked, then laughed at herself, her eagerness. "Sorry, I'm Paige Matthews."

"You promise you won't laugh when I tell you? People are so close minded about the supernatural," she muttered, more to herself than to Paige Matthews.

"Oh! I know! It's really annoying!"

"Oh, are you a witch, or are you a lesser demon/human cross?" Willow asked.

"A demon! Me? Oh God no! We fight demons! Oh, Shit! I wasn't supposed to tell you that," she sounded embarrassed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, well, only my friends, they won't tell. I promise."

"Oh, don't tell them, then everyone would be in danger, mostly from exposure."

"De ja vu, all over again," she laughed, "Sorry, my friend has one of those secret identities."

Paige nodded, "It makes life really hard. My boss is starting to think my family is the most accident prone, with all of the 'family emergencies' we have."

"Oh, I've never really had to worry. I don't work, Xander does, but he's not really big help. Buffy's worked, but she almost got fired because of her calling."

"Yeah, I'm lucky I still have a job! So, what were you doing with the crystal?"

"Well, I was scrying, of sorts. It's a long story."

"That's alright, this bus ride is normally so boring."

"Ok, if you insist!" So Willow gave the woman the shortened version of why she was in town, minus the slayer and her recent time being evil.

"Wow, you've had quite a time!" Paige was impressed, "You followed a feeling of power all the way from home?"

"That isn't even half of it!"

"Oh, this is my stop," she said, standing. Then she turned back to Willow, "Come meet my sisters."

"Uh, ok." They were walking down the street, when Willow stopped dead in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Paige asked, worried by the look on the woman's face.

"T…Th…That… that car!" she said, pointing to a car parked on the opposite side of the street, across form the Halliwell house.

"It's a nice car," Paige said, wonder what her deal was.

"I'll be right in, Ok?"

"Yeah, sure," she looked at the woman a moment, before heading up the walk.

Willow walked towards the car, not totally sure what she was seeing, if it was really there or not. _ Well, Paige noticed it, so it must be real, but its it his? _ She checked out the license plate, she couldn't remember if it matched or not, but she was pretty sure it did.

**Cole's Apartment  
Earlier That Day  
**

"He's not here, he hasn't been here in quite some time," Angel stated. He was most of the time right about these things.

"Angel, look at this picture. Who are these people?"

"Cole, and… Phoebe. Phoebe Halliwell."

Cordelia searched his desk, and quickly found an address book. She thumbed through, until she found what she was looking for, "Here she is. Phoebe Halliwell," she pointed out the information to Angel, including the woman's home and work addresses.

"Ok, let's go," Angel said, as she copied down the address.

"Angel, its day. You can't go out."

"Damn!" He hated to be caged when he was so close to what he was looking for.

"We'll just wait until the sun goes down. Unless you want to chance it?"

"No, because once we get there, I won't be able to get out. I'll scare the hell out of her and her sister."

"So we'll wait here, until afternoon. Then we can go. That's good, I'm exhuasted!"

"You slept in the car on the way here."

"Do you know how uncomfortable those seats are to sleep on? I didn't think so. Do you want the couch, or the bed? Is it wrong for us to stay here?"

"I don't think anyone's been here in a while. I don't care."

"Well, you know this guy, on the off chance he comes home while we're here, you take bed, I get couch."

"Suit yourself."

**Later**

"Cordy, I can't wait any longer. I'll just chance it, and I'll stay in the car until dusk."

"Ok, Mr. Smoking Sneakers."

"Stop calling me mister, it makes me feel old."

"Excuse me! You are old! About 300 years old, right!"

"247."


	4. Chapter 4

**Halliwell Residence**

Willow checked out the car, then checked the sky. _He wouldn't be inside, it's just before dusk,_ she thought. She looked through the window, expecting to see him huddled in the back seat. She knocked on the window to get his attention, and he looked up at her, quizzically. "I'll explain once you come inside," she mouthed. She could have used telepathy, but she wasn't sure if it would work. With that, she walked up the walk, and rang the bell; Paige let her in.

"This is a really nice house!" Willow commented, looking around the front hall.

"Yeah, though it's a bit big for the four, no wait, five of us. My oldest sister just had a baby," she explained.

"OOO! Baby?" Willow cooed.

"Yeah, that's the usual response," Paige laughed.

"Paige! You're finally here! There's someone here to speak with us…" Phoebe trailed off, seeing Willow.

"Hi, I'm Willow. I met Paige on the bus. She invited me home."

"She's also a witch." She looked at her sister, and flinched, "I know! I know! She was searching for a power here in the city. I thought we could help." Phoebe eyed Willow with distrust.

"Don't worry, I'm all good, well, except for that one time, but that was horrible, and I've repented. I'd never go through anything like that again."

"We can finish this conversation later, Paige, there's someone who want's to talk to us, all of us. She has info about the job." Willow caught a look go in between the two sisters. _Something's up_, she thought.

"Ok, Willow…"

"You can call me Will, everybody else does."

"Ok, Will…"

"Willow! What are you doing here?" Cordelia cried as she walked into the room.

"Can't I get a sentence finished?" Paige complained.

"Cordy! Well, that explains how Angel got here. Why are you here? It's a long story."

"Ditto! Lorne, demon, connections, said something strange was going on here. We came to check it out," she explained.

"I was meditating, and I felt a surge of power. I followed it here. We thought it might have something to do with the First."

"The First?"

"Oh, this years big bad, The First Evil."

"What's new is Sunnydale?"

"Well, I um, well, I became a little too enthusiastic with my magic last year, Tara was shot, and she died. I avenged Tara, and well, if it wasn't for Xander, we wouldn't be here right now, I can assure you of that. After that, I traveled to England, with Giles, and studied with a coven there, learning to use my new powers."

"What happened right after graduation? I've been out of the loop."

"Well, Harmony was dating Spike for awhile, but he killed her, I think. He got a chip implanted in his head by Buffy's old boyfriend, Riley, and the government."

"Harm? With Spike! That's hilarious!"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Oh, that's Angel," Cordy and Willow said together, as Paige went to open the door.

"We can catch up more later," Cordy promised Willow as if they were old friends.

"Ok, everyone, and I mean everyone," Phoebe looked at Angel, "into the living room, we all have to talk." Paige nodded Angel in, yet he stayed where he was.

"He needs a verbal invite," Cordy and Willow said in unison. They looked at each other, and smiled. Willow looked at the confused faces of their hostesses, "Don't worry, we'll explain."

"Ok, who should start?" Piper asked, once they were all situated in the living room.

"Well, I think that Angel, Cordelia and I should explain ourselves. We're the ones that barged into your house. I trust that everything will be kept on a need to know basis?" The Charmed ones looked at her funny. "My best friend sent me to check out the power I sensed, and I can't keep things from her. I'm a bad liar, and she knows me too well. But I will explain about her, though knowing would put you in danger."

They sat in awkward silence for a couple seconds, until Wyatt started to whimper.

"Leo, could you get me a bottle? I know they're for emergencies, but I'm not missing any of this!" He got up, and left the room. They sat in silence for a while more. He returned, and for a while the only sound that could be heard was the baby drinking greedily.

"Fine, I'll start!" Willow exclaimed, tired of the silence, it gave her too much time to argue with herself. "I grew up in Sunnydale, where your worst nightmares are real. And I'm not talking about showing up at school naked, or something like that. I'm talking about demons, and vampires, and witches, and spells. They're all real, but you already know that.

"What you don't know, and for a while, neither did we, is that Sunnydale is on a hellmouth, a portal of sorts from this dimension, to hell. It attracts a whole mess of demonic activity, who either live off the people, or to try to open the portal, releasing hell on Earth.

"The high school is actually built atop the hellmouth, it opens right underneath the stacks in the library. Well, it used to. The school was burned to the ground the day of our graduation. But it's been rebuilt, and now the Principal's Office is right above the opening.

"I went to school on the hellmouth for four years, so did Cordelia. In our sophomore year, a new girl moved to town. She was kicked out of her old school for burning down the gym. Her job is to stop these demons, these vampires, and she's stopped many, but when one is killed, three more seem to take it's place. She is the 'Chosen One'. The story goes: 'into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers.' Her name's Buffy Summers, and she's my best friend.

"Nobody was supposed to know about her secret identity, none except her watcher, Rupert Giles, the old librarian at Sunnydale High. We, Xander and I, found out when she saved us from vampires, but our best friend Jesse..." a "Stupid dolt," was heard muttered by Cordelia, At this point, Paige went upstairs with her nephew, Willow thought to put him to sleep. She came back quickly. Willow continued once she got back. "He wasn't so lucky, he was turned into one of them, a horrible death.

"Slayers don't have a very long life expectancy. Mostly because they are in danger every second, and anyone who knows is in grave danger. She didn't want to be the slayer, but she didn't get a choice. Buffy's been killed twice, first time, when she was 16." Willow described in some detail about what had happened, "The second time was to save the world a few years later.

"I…I couldn't…I just couldn't deal with her death. She brought me out of my shell," she explained in a rush, to justify her actions. "I was the shyest, geekiest person you could have met, before Buffy. So I resurrected her. That led into my bad time. God, this is so hard to talk about!" She explained how she became addicted to magic. "I quit after Tara left, she couldn't handle it, she was afraid of what I had become. She came back to me, once I quit, but she was horribly murdered, right in front of me."

As she started telling about she had gone evil, she started crying. "I was set on revenge, not just from Tara's murderer, but from the whole world, it was like apart of me died with Tara." She explained how Xander saved her, helped her deal with her grief. Her tears were running freely down her cheeks. She brushed them away, and went on, "I went to England with Giles. I studied with a coven over there. I learned to control the powers I now posses. I won't use them, except for simple things. I guess, deep down inside, I'm afraid to use them, what if it happens again?" She asked, a shiver running down her spine.

"Every year, there seems to be a new evil. We defeated the first one, summer's calm, few vamps, few demons, and by September, there's a new evil, ready to take over, to try what it's predecessor failed at." She explained how they had blown up the high school, had defeated Adam, and faced Glory.

"This year, it's the First Evil. It's trying to take out the Slayer line, no more slayers, and demons run free and unhindered. We have gathered all of the living slayers-to-be, and we're training them." She went on to explain what had been going on since she returned from England, and why she came back. She also told of the difficulties they had been having, with so many girls under one roof.

She quickly told them of what had brought her to be sitting in their living room, "Don't worry, Paige only told me you were witches, she didn't tell me any more of your secrets, but I can feel it, this whole house has magic floating in the air. And there's something under the house itself, it's not really like the hellmouth, but it could really pack a wallop. It's a source of magic," Willow finished off her tale. She let them digest the information, the Halliwells, the whole thing, and whatever Angel and Cordy didn't know.

After a few minutes, she looked at first Cordy, then Angel, imploring one of them to go next. They looked at each other, and silently conversed, and Cordy decided to go next.

"Ok, I'm just going to add to Willow's story. Grew up in Sunnydale. I was popular. I sort of joined the group, during junior year, while I was dating Xander, worst mistake in my life. I helped out occasionally. After Graduation, I decided against college, and went to L.A. to become an actress. I met Angel there, and now I work for him. He owns Angel Investigations, and we handle the supernatural, things that the police wouldn't dream of dealing with, things they can't handle." She finished, and sat back, happy with herself, keeping her tale under ten minutes long.

"Ok, I have the strangest tale here. Please let me explain, before you jump to conclusions." He noticed how the oldest sister sat warily on the couch, "I am a vampire; I am over 240 years old. My story starts in Ireland, in the late 1700's. It's been so long, I don't remember the exact year," he quickly told them about his siring, "I took the name Angelus, meaning one with the Angelic face. I was the terror of Europe, branching into Asia from time to time."

"The gypsies, the Romani, have a thing for curses. During the late 1800's, I fed off one of their daughters, and they punished me by returning my human soul. I now remember every single person I killed in my years as a monster.

"I became the sorriest vampire ever. I fed off rats, lived in alleyways and sewers. But in 1996, I was taken to Buffy's calling." His eyes became clouded, and his voice changed, like he was back on that day, in that car, "She was just a kid, only 15, who was made to grow up so fast, in a world many don't realize exists. It's crazy, but I fell in love with her right there. I wanted to protect her with all my heart, I didn't want to see her hurt, but with her destiny, it's pretty easy to get hurt.'" While speaking, he had looked up, and he was staring them in the eyes, one by one.

He quietly told them about the bare details about Buffy's 17th birthday. "I learned then that one moment of complete happiness, and I would be unburdened of my curse. I would be turned back into the monster I was so long ago. Thankfully, Willow managed to recurse me.

"After that, we decided to just be friends, knowing what would happen if we gave into temptation again. But it didn't work, being friends, and shortly after her graduation, I ended up in LA, where I started Angel Investigations, with some prodding. One demon that works for me, an empathic demon, said that something was going on here, so I decided to check it out. It may not be my turf, but I thought I could offer my services to you.

"I found your information at the apartment of one of my old acquaintances. I'm sorry for barging in on you like this."

"Wh…what was his name, your friend? Where did you meet him?" Phoebe asked, horrified.

"His name was Cole. I met him at a bar, I was hurting, and he was hurting, and we drowned our sorrows together," he explained.

"You knew Cole?" Phoebe cried, the other two gasped in surprise. They both moved closer to her, as to comfort her, " No, I'm over him, I'm fine." She insisted, and they weren't back to their seats. _She doesn't smell fine. This is hurting her inside. Just like it hurts me to think of Buffy. She loved him completely, but couldn't trust him. I'm surprised she ever trusted _me_ again._

"Well, I guess we're next," Piper said, sighing. Just then, a loud, piteous wail sounded from upstairs. "OH!"

"Don't worry, I got him!" Leo said, and orbed upstairs.

"Angel!" Cordy cried, she started to shake.

"We'll explain that!" Piper said, silently cursing Leo, for scaring their guest, even if she was used to demonic activity.

"Your vision?" Angel asked in a low tone, leaning towards her, she hadn't gone into her visions, he wasn't sure if she wanted Willow to know. She knew that she would tell Xander and the others.

"Yes!" she hissed, "I thought he looked familiar! But it was just a glimpse that I got before!"

"What visions? Cordy, what is he talking about? You didn't have visions in high school," Willow asked, overhearing, the thought on most of their minds. "Or did you not tell us?" she accused, a hurt look on her face.

"It's ok, Angel, I'll tell her," Cordy said, before Angel defended her. "In L.A. there was this demon, well, I didn't know he was a demon at first. Before he died, he transferred his visions to me."

"Piper, he's hungry again." Leo orbed back in. He had his son propped up, resting on his shoulder. He had him sitting on his arm, with his other hand supporting his delicate head. The tail of the blanket was hanging down from under his arm.

"Angel! That's the symbol! This is definitly the place," Cordy said, sighing now that the pieces were fitting.

"Oh! Now I know where that's from, that the symbol stands for the Trinity! Cor, you really need to work on your drawing skills!" Angel teased.

_Cor!_ Willow thought, then saw the tender way that Angel teased her. _Oh my GOD! Buffy is going to freak!_

_You don't have to tell her._

_She needs to know! It wouldn't be right for me not to tell her. She still loves him._

_Well, maybe he's over her. She's protected you, so now it's your turn to protect her!_

_You're irrational. I am not speaking to you!_

"Ok, let us explain. Leo, get another bottle. We'll just have to deal," she said to his look. She took her son from him as he left the room, he sometimes quieted when he was near her.

"No, I should explain my vision, you have a right to know about it, you were in it. I was reading, when I had it. I was in a solarium and there was a horned demon…" She went on to describe her vision.

"Ok, now it is our turn to explain. We come from a long line of witches. Using the powers that have been given to us, we protect the innocent. We each have special powers. I have the power to freezing time and blowing up things," Piper explained.

"I have the power of Premonition. I have visions of the past or future. My second power is levitation," Phoebe added.

"My powers come from my father's side. I don't share a father with Piper and Phoebe; my father was a whitelighter. I can orb, and I can orb objects to be, by naming them."

"Prue had the power of Telekinesis. She also could astral project. Her power of telekinesis couldn't be used when she was in her astral form, though," Piper said, her mood shifting, like it always did, when she talked about Prue. Angel sensed this change, as well as in the other sisters and Leo, but he didn't think Willow or Cordelia picked up on it. "She was killed by a demon, after saving me. It's a long story, too long and too painful to go into," she wiped away a tear.

"Hey! We dragged up our hideously painful memories!"

"Cordelia Chase! That was our decision. All we need to know was that she died! We don't need to know how!" Willow cried, ashamed at Cordelia. "I thought that you had changed! You're still the selfish, self-centered bitch that you were in high school! I couldn't see what Xander saw in you then, and I still don't!"

"Well, the truth comes out at last! I knew you despised me! Did you think that I didn't know about the 'We Hate Cordelia Club'? I knew you were jealous, because I was so popular! And you were such a geek! You still are!"

"If you are the role model for popular people, I'm glad I wasn't popular! And I'm glad of my geek status! It's nothing to be ashamed of! And it helped us out a ton, unlike your coolness."

"Yeah, but is being lesbian? Oh, or are you bi? Is that why Oz left you, because you were cheating on him, with a woman!"

"OH! Don't you bring Oz into this! He left long before I met Tara! I never would have met Tara if he hadn't, that and learned what a stupid bunch of ninnies the Wiccan group on Campus was! They had Bake sales! Who does bake sales anymore! They didn't even know how to meditate."

"Oh, don't go changing the subject! We still haven't talked about you stealing Xander from me! I tried, but how was I to know that was, the other you, from that strange dimension!"

"What?" Willow asked bewildered, "Oh, you tried to talk to vamp me? To bad she didn't bite you! She would have saved us a whole lot of trouble!"

"Well, if she had changed me, I would have come and bit you!"

"I would have staked you long before you got a chance, if Buffy hadn't first!" Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, and Angel watched this heated exchange, afraid to interfere.

"Yeah, how many vamps have you ever staked? I remember, while Buffy was gone, while Angel was in hell, you couldn't stake a vamp to save your life! Neither could Oz!"

"I said leave him out of this! I didn't see you staking anybody either, oh, that's because you were THE BAIT! What did you ever do to help! Besides being bait, that is!"

"I helped in my own way, I had the car remember? I drove Buffy home, when she lost her powers, and she was freakin'."

"Oooo! Once! I didn't see you jumping to research!"

"Because I had a life! I'm not the geek remember? You are!"

"And it's not an insult! Get that through your thick head!"

"Uh, Willow, Cordelia, calm…" Angel tried.

"You stay out of this!" they yelled at him.

"Ok, thanks!" He turned to the Halliwells, "So, I think this will eventually play out, do you want to go somewhere else and talk? We can't do it very well in here," he whispered.

"Will they get mad? You know them better than we do," Leo commented.

"I don't think they'll notice," he replied. So they all quietly got up, and went into the Solarium.


	5. Chapter 5

Sunnydale

Summer's residence

"I wonder how Will's doing."

"Buffy, she'll be fine. The most dangerous place to be right now is Sunnydale, and she's not here, she's fine," Xander assured her.

"That's not true, and you know it. The First evil is everywhere. It tried to have Willow killed, well, it wanted Willow to kill herself, what's to stop it now, when I'm not around?"

"Buff, I'm sorry to point this out, but so far, you haven't scratched the First, what's stopping it from hurting Willow when she's in this house?"

"You have a point. God, I hate being helpless! I just can't deal, Xander, I can't! Every apocalypse we've ever faced, I could do something to stop it! Every single evil that came to town, I kicked its ass, before either killing it, or sending it on its way! Now, I can't do anything! It's killing slayers, in a way, my family. Without Slayers, the world is just a helpless baby. The world isn't equipped to face what I face every single day! Especially that they don't know this type of stuff exists, that their worst nightmares are real, that they lurk in the shadows, just waiting to take over! And if anybody tried to tell them, they'd lock her up! We were lucky with the Graduation, the students had been around strange things, they weren't too surprised, but the whole world?"

"Buffy, calm down! We'll find away to over come this! Don't worry, we did before, and we will now!"

"Xander, what if I die again? I've died twice! In six years! I don't think I could go through that again! Dying, then being brought back! I've done what I was put here to do. I know that most slayers don't live past 21, hell, I didn't make it, I died at 16! I don't think anybody really understands what it was like."

"Buffy, you don't know how much I wish I knew, if just to make you feel more at ease. And I know that I can't promise you that you won't die, I can't promise you that none of us will die. But I can promise you that we will get through this as well as we can, just as we always have," he tried desperately to console his friend.

Los Angeles

Angel Investigations

"I hope that Angel's alright." Fred told Gun, looking out into the night.

"Baby, we have no reason to think he's not."

"Yet we have no reason to think he's ok," she said, smiling.

"You're too smart for me. Seriously, he'll be fine. You know him. He can definitely take care of himself, or he wouldn't be around. That's how it works with vamps."

"But what if something went wrong? We'd never know, would we?"

"Yes we would, Cordelia went with him."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot."

"And I'm here to remind you."

San Francisco

Halliwell house

Solarium

"What's their deal?" Paige asked.

"Paige!" Piper warned.

"It's ok. It's, like everything else about us, a long story. They grew up in the same hometown, you already know that, and Cordy was popular, Willow a geek. Well, Xander and Willow, friends since kindergarten, or even before, started a 'We hate Cordy Club'. Then in Junior year, Xander started to date Cordy." He then summarized the events leading up to their dispute in the other room.

"That makes a lot more sense now," Paige said.

"Yeah, it would. There is so much that's gone on since Buffy was called," Angel said, apologetically, "It would be so much easier for you to understand where we're coming from if you had been there for the ride. Even I don't know everything that's gone on. God, It's been, what, three years since I've seen her?" He mused.

"Do you miss her?" Paige asked, not totally understanding the pain the question could bring up.

_That's like asking a fish if he misses the ocean_. _I think of her every second, I miss her ever nano second, yet it could never be._ "Yes, but we tried just being friends, it just didn't work out, because what we had was so strong, that I couldn't risk loosing my soul again."

"Wait, so let me get something, the Slayer is real! I mean, like a living person! You'd think that I'd understand, with all that I've seen! But, I always thought that the Slayer was the demon equivalent of the boogey man! You know, to make little demons behave. 'Drink all of your blood, or the slayer'll get you!'" Phoebe cried, talking a mile per minute. Angel could tell, that in her own way, she was in denial. She'd seen so much, just like Buffy, she'd seen a world that she shouldn't have had to. And she just couldn't take anymore.

"Oh! Piper, remember when Prue was still around, when we faced the Alcatras ghost? I remember something, that's totally far out! I heard a noise, and asked 'What was that?' Prue responded ' Oh, just vampires or werewolves.' And I quipped, thinking she wasn't real, I asked 'Where's the slayer when you need her?' We had a good laugh out of it. Oh! God! I'm sorry." To Angel, she sounded half hysterical.

"Shhh! Shhhhhh! You've been through a lot, Phoebs, just calm down." Piper tried to calm her, as she handed her son to Paige, and cradled Phoeb's head against her shoulder.

"Why, don't you just take a deep breath, just calm down. I know this is a lot to take in right now. You're in denial, and I know all about that. Buffy went through a phase of denial, right before the master killed her. She was only sixteen, so young, and she overheard us talking, Giles and I. He found a prophecy about her death." And he was back in time, remembering the fear in her voice when she said that she didn't want to die at 16.

Living Room 

"You whore!"

"You're the lesbian one!"

"Who have you slept with since you went to L.A.? Did you sleep with Angel, so that he would give you a job? Well, obviously you weren't good enough for him, like Buffy was, because he still has his soul!"

"I NEVER SLEPT WITH ANGEL!" Cordelia screamed.

"YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO ADMIT IT, BECAUSE YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT!"

"I DID NOT SLEEP WITH ANGEL, IF YOU MUST KNOW, I SLEPT WITH HIS SON, CONNOR!"

"OOO! YOU LIKE ANGEL, AND YOU SLEPT WITH HIS SON! THAT'S THE WAY TO HIS HEART! OH, WAIT; YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO GO THERE, IT ISN'T EVEN BEATING! Wait, how the hell does he have a son? And why would you sleep with a baby? That's so gross!" Willow asked, their spat almost forgotten.

"Darla, she was brought back by Wolfram and Hart, evil law firm, and Angel slept with her. I don't know why, and I don't want to, but he did. Somehow she became pregnant, she had to stake herself so Connor could be born. While he was just a baby, Wesley found a prophecy, saying the father would kill the son, so he stole Connor. Holts, Angelus killed his whole family, he was frozen until now so he could get revenge, he almost killed Wesley, and took Connor. He fled to another dimension, where time moves faster, way faster. Connor should be just about a year old, now, but he's 21."

"That makes no sense, but when have our lives ever made sense. Hey, where'd everybody go?" Willow asked, looking around for the first time.

"We're in the Solarium!" they heard Angel call. With his super hearing, he had been keeping tabs on them, so they didn't try killing each other. The walked into the solarium.

"Sorry about that. We're not exactly friends. We promise we'll be good from now on, right, Cordelia?" Willow sounded sheepish.

"Yeah, whatever," she said, her eyes were narrowed, and she would not look at Willow.

"What did we miss?"

"Nothing, I was just explaining why you were fighting, for the most part. Are you two sure you're all right now? You don't sm…"

"Yeah, we're fine, Angel, just a little shook up." Yet, he noticed that they wouldn't look at each other, and they sat on the opposite sides of the room, and would not look at each other.

"Phoebe realized that she'd heard of Buffy before, but thought that she was just a myth. Just as others think that vampires and demons and witches, and… whitelighters aren't real." Angel said, and that got a light laugh out of everyone.

"Oh, I just realized how rude we've been! Does anybody want anything, snacks, drinks? Oh, look at the time, you're all welcome to stay for dinner."

"Thank you," Willow and Cordelia said together, than, looked crossly at one another, and looked away.

"Um, Angel, I'm sorry, but I don't know what to serve a vampire!" Piper said, apologetically.

"That's ok, nobody keeps blood in their fridge in case a vampire drops by."

Sunnydale

Summer's residence

"Buffy, we're out of blood!" Spike called, his head in the fridge.

"Well, We'll just have to get some more, then, right? I'll send Xander or one of the girls to get some. Or, hey, here's a thought, get your own blood!"

Author's note:

Sorry about the end of this part, I just couldn't help myself. Reviews, please!


	6. Chapter 6 Plans

**San Francisco**

**Halliwell house**

"Paige, Phoebs, Leo, come help me, please," Piper said, heading for the kitchen, after asking her guests if they had any preferences for dinner.

"Willow, how's Buffy doing, and what is this First? Is Spike still hanging around creating hell?"

Willow swallowed, suddenly nervous, as she started to explain the situation, "Buffy's… well, she's Buffy. Giles is the only watcher left that we know about, so the potential slayers are staying with us. She won't show how afraid she is in front of them, and every once in awhile, there's the start of a mutiny, but she straightens everything out. The First Evil, it's trying to kill slayers, the whole line. It's succeeded in the Watchers, for the most part. And it's gotten some of the slayers-to-be. I find it sad, these girls have been trained by their watcher, knowing that slayers don't live very long, and that they could be called at any minute. But now their dying, without even being able to protect themselves. We can't fight the First, it's technically a ghost. And it wants Spike on its side. See, when Riley and Buffy were dating…" Willow was about to go on, but Angel interrupted.

"Soldier boy."

Willow almost laughed, that was exactly what Spike called Riley, but she didn't think Angel would be happy to find that out. "Yes, the Initiative, where he worked, implanted a chip in Spike's head, rendering him helpless towards humans."

"Ohh, that must have been a blow and a half."

"Yeah. Well, after Riley left…"

"What?" Angel asked, more interested, "Please, tell me."

"This is going to be a blow, Angel, I know it is, please don't hurt me."

"Will, I'd never hurt you, never even think about it, unless of course your going to tell me Spike and Buffy dated, or something."

"Never!" Willow said, frantically, shaking her head.

"What! Are you saying they slept together! Willow, tell me!" Willow cowed at his tone of voice.

"Yes, but Buffy broke it off with him. She realized she was using him. She didn't want to."

"So she didn't love him?" Angel, grasping at straws, asked franticly. _Sleeping with Riley, well he hated him, but he was human, who Buffy should be with, a human, but Spike!_ _That just was _wrong!

_Yeah, about as wrong as you and her._

"I don't know that. But, he loves her, and he got mad when she stopped seeing him. He went to South Africa, and somehow got his soul. We don't know if it's like yours or not, they haven't done anything since she dumped him, well, he tried to rape her," Willow said, not seeming to be able to keep a hold of her mouth, which was spitting things out at random.

"OH! I'm going to kill that SOB! How dare try to he hurt her!"

"Angel, calm down. He's good now. As much as I hate to admit it, he's changed, how much, I'm not sure, but he has. The First has a way of turning his chip and his soul off, so that he can hurt people, when the First wants him to."

"Damn!" Angel stalked out of the house.

**In the kitchen**

"What a strange turn of events." Piper expressed everyone's thoughts. She was speaking low, she didn't want the others to overhear.

"Yeah, I know," Paige agreed.

"Phoebs, are you ok? I know that some of what they told us sounded some what familiar."

"I'm fine." She saw the looks her sisters were sending her way. _They know me all too well._ "I'm fine, stop worrying!" Yet, she knew they wouldn't listen.

"Hun, we're running out of milk for this little guy," Leo said, tickling the baby in his arms.

"Ok, I'll deal with it later. Thank you for letting me use it. I know that it's supposed to be in case I'm hurt, or if…if I'm not here, but that was just too good to miss," she said, momentarily leaning against him.

"Hey, maybe they know why all the demons are here," Paige thought out loud, "But what if we're next? Willow said that First Evil thing was trying to get rid of the Slayers, what if the Charmed Ones are next on its list?"

"That's an awful thought, Paige!" Piper cried, shocked that her sister would say such a thing.

"But she could be right, it would be worth looking into," Leo said.

"I feel bad for Buffy. It's only her, well, and her watcher, from what I got from that, against the whole evil world! The only ones to protect that hellmouth thing. And talk about her love choices!" Paige said

"Yeah, It reminded me a lot of something, and someone, but I can't remember now," Phoebe said with a smile, and she and Paige both looked at Leo and Piper, especially Piper, who had made many bad love choices in the past.

"Yeah, luckily, our story came out better," Piper said, kissing Leo, careful not to squish Wyatt.

"Excuse me, but could I help out? I feel bad about dropping in on you guys, and everything," Willow said from the doorway. She had been standing there for awhile, but she didn't want to interrupt. She figured it would give her some info on how they were dealing with everything, if they didn't know she was there.

"Yeah, sure, I don't know what you could do, sorry, not at the moment," Piper said. She was cutting up chicken, Paige was peeling carrots, Phoebe was stirring something in a pot, and Leo had put Wyatt in his seat, and began chopping onions. Just then, Wyatt started to cry in his seat. "Oh!" Piper said, looking dismayed, her hands were all greasy.

"May I?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, sure," Piper said, a bit nervous.

"Hey baby! What's the matter? Do you need someone to play with?" Willow asked, picking him up. "You're soo tiny! Yes you are!" Piper was afraid that he might start crying because of the stranger, and put Willow out, but he stopped, and stared up at Willow. "How old is he?"

"He's just a couple weeks old. He was premature, about six weeks early," Piper said, going back to the chicken now that she knew Wyatt wouldn't cry, "I had high blood pressure, and well, demons wanted him," she said by way of conversation, not sure of what to talk about, "There were three signs, Jupiter and Mars glowed as one, the Aurora Borealis in the sky, and, magic went poof."

"Lucky for us, the Elders, they sent a baby gift, a unicorn. The horn's pure magic, and Phoebe and I vanquished the demons who wanted our precious nephew with some shavings from the horn," Paige said, rubbing her nose on Wyatt's stomach quickly, before going back to her carrots.

"Strange, I didn't notice the absence of magic, yet I don't use magic everyday, not anymore anyway, only to meditate. I used to, when I first started, to strengthen my skills. I used to float a pencil! I remember when that was a great accomplishment," she laughed at her younger self.

"We don't do anything like that. It's mostly just vanquishing things." Paige said, almost sounding like she wanted to use her magic in other ways.

"Yeah, and we get in trouble if we use our powers for personal gain," Piper said, as if reminding Paige, who made a 'yeah, yeah' face behind her sister's back.

"I've always wanted a baby, but I don't think I'll ever have one," Willow said sadly, changing the subject, bouncing Wyatt so he gurgled.

Piper saw Paige, and shook her head NO! She knew her sister all to well; she was going to ask an embarrassing question. Paige stuck her tongue out at her oldest sister, but she didn't say anything.

"It's every girl's dream to have a child, well, most girls. I feel bad for Buffy, she's never had a relationship, well, besides that jerk Parker, with a human, well, there was Riley, but he left after awhile. She'll never have kids, she'll never even get married! That's the slayer way, I think. She understood that from the get go. She can't be normal. No normal life, no normal relationships, she's lucky, most of the time, most slayers are loners," Willow went on absently, not really sure what she was saying, or what she was doing, "Because it puts people in major danger knowing. Lot's of previous slayers just traveled around, following demons and vampires. Most slayers find out they could be slayers before they were called. Buffy didn't know until she was. It's rather funny, she was a cheerleader, Prom Princess, and Fiesta Queen, and the most popular girl in school before she was called, and after she burned down the gym, and moved to Sunnydale, she was the outcast, the freak. It was a big change for her, but she managed somehow. She's strong not just physically, but mentally and spiritually. Only if she'd put her brain to school work." Willow decided that she'd said too much, and decided to change the subject. "So, what's new in the demonic department around here?"

"Excess demons galore!" Paige said, "And they're getting tougher and tougher to beat. That's why we decided to keep extra milk in the fridge for the baby, in case something happens to Piper. She's died twice. Well, three times, if you count before they turned back time. And our mother died when we were young. We don't want him to be motherless, but if it happens, we want to make sure he's taken care of. I'd die to protect him," Paige said, caressing her nephew's head.

"Let's hope it never comes to that," Piper said, throwing the chicken, carrots, onions and other vegetables into an oven pan, and sticking it in the oven.

"I understand completely," Willow said, "We've all had to make descisions we wouldn't have thought about otherwise," Willow trailed off, thinking about Dawn and Buffy.


	7. Chapter 7

**On the Phone**

**Sunnydale/ San Francisco**

"Hey Will. Didn't expect to hear from you so soon," Buffy said by way of greeting, curling up on her bed.

"Yeah, well, I learned a lot, and, well, I knew you'd be curious as to what's been going on. I think I have an idea on how to beat the First, but we'll need Angel and his friends in LA., and the people I've meet here. Maybe you could catch a bus up here, so we could talk about it? I don't have enough thought out to start on the phone."

"Will, you know I can't!" Buffy said, ignoring the comment about needing Angel, "I'd love to, I really would! But, there's a new slayer-to-be here. I have to train her. You know that I can't leave it to anybody else, I'd feel if I was letting her down! As well as responsible if anything happened to her."

"What about Giles? Couldn't he take over?"

"He's no longer my watcher, technically, there's no longer any such thing as a Watcher's Council, or a Watcher."

"But that is what he trained his whole life for, Buff, he's a watcher, his father was a watcher. His grandmother was a watcher! And he's a watcher!"

"What if everybody came here?" Buffy asked, already regretting the question. With the potentials, and Andrew, and Spike and Giles, the house was already crowded.

"Well, they have a small baby, I'm not sure how they'd feel about being asked to come there, especially since he was born 6 weeks early. And there are others here, I'm not sure if you would want to see them again."

"Who?"

"Angel and Cordelia."

"What! Why are they there!" Buffy asked, miffed.

"Same reason as me, they got some info that something freaky was going on here, and they came to visit."

"Does everybody know about my slayer status?"

"Yeah, I meant to mention that," she said, tracing circles on the desk "I sorta had to tell. They fight demons to, the Halliwells, Piper, she's the one with the baby, Phoebe, and Paige. Piper's husband, Leo, is a whitelighter."

"Huh?"

"From what I understood, like a guardian angel, only for witches. Maybe like watchers, only not human?"

"Strange."

"Yeah. Oh, they said that they've heard of you from vampires, a nest was looking for you here, but they thought you were just a myth."

"Huh, funny, that's exactly what Professor Walsh thought I was, too. What exactly did you tell Angel?"

"I couldn't lie to him, Buffy," Willow bit her lip, tensing for the outburst.

"Willow!" She cried horrified "Does he know about Spike!"

"Yes. I didn't tell him, he guessed. I wanted to make sure that whatever I told him, he wouldn't hurt me, because some was bad news, and he told me he wouldn't think of hurting me, unless you and Spike dated or something. I said no, but then he guessed that you'd…he got mad, and he left."

"Well, ask them, all of them, if they would like to come here, and meet the rest of the gang. If they can't possibly come here, I might be able to find away to come, or to meet halfway somewhere. Though I would be pretty suspicious to be traveling with twenty girls!"

"Ok, I'll call you."

"Talk to you soon."

"Bye!"

**Sunnydale**

_I can't believe her! I know that she had no choice, but, hell! This makes my life so much more difficult! Things are strange around here with Spike and Wood, I think he knows more than he's telling, but if Angel comes, and now that he knows, things are going to become a whole lot worse! I can't be babysitting them while I have a job to do, I have to baby-sit the Slayers-to-be, as well as I have my counselor job! _Buffy thought as she went downstairs to beat the crap out of the punching bag in the basement. She was in such a fit that she didn't realize that Spike would be in the basement, and she really didn't want to answer questions.

**San Francisco**

**Halliwell house**

_Damn! Buffy's pissed at me! This isn't going to be easy, how do I ask them this?_

_Nothing is ever easy, you should know that by now, _the voice in her head told her.

_Get out of my head. I have enough to worry about, without worrying about you!_

_Suit yourself…_the tone was singsong, and just made Willow feel worse.

"Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo?" Willow called, uncertainly, as she walked down the stairs. She had been in the attic, Piper said that she could sleep up there, and she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted.

"We're in the kitchen!"

_Here goes!_

"How do you like your 'room'?" Paige asked, smiling as Willow came into the kitchen to find Piper cleaning up, and Cordelia, Phoebe and Paige sitting at the kitchen table. Leo was playing with Wyatt.

"It's nice, very spacious, even if it's a tiny bit dusty. I just got off the phone with Buffy, and she thinks that if we all work together, you too, Cordelia, she thinks that we can solve all of our problems. The only problem is, she has to stay in Sunnydale, the slayers-to-be count on her so much, and if she leaves now, they might think she's deserting them."

"Ok, well, we could probably go to Sunnydale, just for a short while. Leo, the Elders wont mind, will they? We'll still be protecting innocents, just not here." Phoebe said quickly with a smile; she prided on her skill of getting around things. "Plus, we need a vacation, even if it is a working vacation."

"This won't be easy, I want to point that out right now, this will not be a walk in the park! This is going to be very dangerous, not just for you, but for us as well, the First has ways of controlling people, we don't know if it might try it with you. It tries to rationalize with the evil inside you, and bring that evil out. If you see anyone that you know that's dead, don't listen, no matter what they say. It's the First trying to manipulate you," Willow cautioned.

"But what about if demons come here, looking for us, they could destroy the house," Piper said, "And what about the Nexus?"

"It's not as if it's been destroyed before!" Paige quipped.

"I could help with that. I know that you can't do stuff for yourselves, but what if I did a protection spell? I've gotten pretty good at them, well, my magickal power has grown since I've last done one, but it shouldn't be to hard. Even one the size of a house."

"Would it stop them from getting in? Even blinking in?" Piper asked.

"I think so, if we word it correctly, but I can't guarantee anything. The only protection spell I tried was for Buffy, it was to be a surprise, but she found out. And they don't work well with her line of job."

"Just do your best. We can leave tomorrow morning, if you want," Phoebe said after silently conversing with her sisters.

"No, it'll take longer than that to set up the spell, and Angel, we need to tell him, and we'd have to leave after dark."

"There he is now." Cordy said, as they heard the door close.

"You tell him, you guys pack, and I'll set up the spell." Willow dished out jobs.

"Great, give me the dangerous job!" Cordy muttered.

Willow went to the living room, so do and inventory of what she had. Before she started, she called Buffy, to tell her the plan was a go. She decided to ask Paige where the magical supplies were, she didn't have enough stuff. _As if I didn't bring everything I own, well, some of each, and I don't have what I need. Maybe Giles knows something about this type of spell, I'm gonna need help coming up with something!_

**Sunnydale**

"Ok, everyone here? Good. This is very important so pay attention, Spike, Xander, Giles and Wood you especially. Willow thinks that we might have found a solution to this First problem. But, it means getting help from a very old friend, an old _vampire_ friend…"

"Buffy! What are you saying!" some of the potentials cried, Xander's voice among them.

"Xander, please don't interrupt. We don't have a choice, the world is at stake."

"I don't understand why it's so important that I be here," Principal Wood said.

"Speaking of stakes, my friend, you _must not_ stake him! None of you are to think about staking him! I know that only Xander, Spike, Dawn, and Giles know who I'm talking about, but…"

"I'm drawing a blank, luv."

"Well, let me help," Buffy said, irritated that he had called her love, "You despise him, and you are one of the reasons why he left, even if he doesn't know it, and you weren't even around when he left. And he left right after graduation. That help?"

"Oh, the Poof coming back!" Spike cried with a laugh, "This is going to be a barrel of moneky."

"Yes. For the rest of you, who have no clue, let me explain…" Buffy said,c asting a glance at the potentials.

**San Francisco**

"Are you sure you're ok with this, Angel?"

"I'll manage. Don't worry about me." _It's too late for that_ Cordelia thought.

"Spike's going to be there, as well as Principal Wood, Buffy's boss," Willow added.

"Just great, Roller boy!" He realized that that was what Angelus had called Spike, and shuddered inside.

**Somewhere in South America**

"Agent Finn, are you sure about this?" a captain asked

"All the signs are pointing in that direction. Something is about to go down, something big."

"We move out at your command," he folded, acknowledging Finn's expertise in the area.

**On the phone**

**Los Angeles/San Francisco**

"Wesley, we're headed to Sunnydale. We don't need anyone, Angel doesn't want anyone there, but we need the information, I expect that you'll want to be there. Bring the info about the Beast. We're going to crack this case wide open."

**Sunnydale**

"Ok, today we will not train, we will clean," Buffy said the next morning when she had the potentials assembled.

"But why? Isn't our time better spent training, not cleaning?" one of the girls asked.

"Have you taken a good look around here lately! We are going to be having guests here in a few days. I know that we are cramped as it is, but it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. There are to be new sleeping assignments, we need to make room for our guests…" Buffy went on to describe the way things were going down from now on.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Ok, originally, I had days and stuff for all the parts, but I didn't like it. But I've decided to keep them for here on out. I think that It might clear up some things, like if things are happening simoutaniously.**

**San Francisco**

**Tuesday morning**

"Willow, how's that spell coming?" Phoebe asked, coming into the living room. She had been hostile to W illow at first, but then she had warmed up to her.

"Ok, but I'm having wording problems. I've never been good at writing spells, just doing them."

"I've always been good with words," Phoebe said, taking the page from her.

**Sunnydale**

**Tuesday night just after dusk**

"Hey Will! Nice to have you back!" Kennedy said.

"Hi," Willow smiled at the girl, "Buffy, this is Piper, Phoebe, Paige, and Leo. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, these are the Slayers-to-be, this is Buffy, Xander, Giles, Principal Wood, Spike, Anya, Dawn and Andrew," Willow introduced everybody.

"Ok, now that introductions are done, girls, out back, training," Buffy ordered, "Kennedy, you know what to go over. Dawn, stay with us, Andrew, make yourself scarce. Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Xander, Giles, Wood, living room, so we can get down to business," Buffy instructed, getting a bit tongue tied at all the names. Just as they had gotten situated, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Andrew called. "Buffy!" He called a minute later.

"What!"

"Um…He says that he knows you, and he needs to speak with you."

"Who! Just let him already! It's daylight, he's not a vampire. Right!"

"Of course I'm not a vampire. Angel, Cordy, hi, Buffy, Rupert."

"Wesley, what are you doing here?" Angel asked.

"I brought the information about the Beast. Cordelia told me that it might be needed."

"Ok, Wesley, this is Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Leo, Spike, and Andrew. Everybody, this is Wesley Windham Pryce. He was my watcher, before I quit the Council."

"But I thought…" Paige spoke up, confused.

"Long story, tell you later," Buffy said, trying to get on to the topic at hand.

"Nice to meet you, Wesley, Angel, Cordelia," Dawn said from her seat on the floor with a smirk.

"Hey Dawnie," Angel said

"Hey, squirt" Cordy said.

"Hello, Dawn," Wesley said, always formal.

Then very confused "huh?"'s were heard from Wesley, Cordelia, and Angel.

"Long story. Not going into it now." Buffy said, glaring at her sister, trying to take hold of the situation. The living room was packed as it was, with no sitting room.

"Hey, now all we need is Riley and Faith, and we could have a reunion!" Xander stated. Buffy looked around the room, and saw that he was right, besides the new people, almost everybody that knew she was the slayer was there.

"No, you forgot Oz," Willow stated.

"Don't jinx us, Xander!" Anya said, having no clue who Faith was, but was rather uncomfortable, being newly ex-demon, again, having all the demon hunters there was rather uncomfortable.

"Wesley, nice to see you alive," Giles stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Wesley said, taken aback.

"The Watcher's Council, and most of the living watchers, had a rather explosive ending, haven't you heard?" Giles asked, before nodding, "Oh, yes, you cut your ties with the council after graduation. Good move, or you'd be dead. The First Evil has wiped out every single watcher on this planet, except for us."

"Okay, we can catch up later! We have to get this under way! Will, how much do they know?" Buffy asked, referring to the Charmed ones.

"Quite a bit."

"That doesn't help, Will. I need to know what they know, so that I won't recover it, and waste time!"

"Well, do you guys have any questions?" Willow asked them.

"Yes, I do." Paige spoke up. Piper and Phoebe groaned, hoping she wouldn't embarrass them, "This is a motley group. How many are actually human? I mean, wow, we don't have this many people that know about us!"

"Well, you will soon. Let's see, Anya, former vengeance demon. Spike and Angel are vampires, both now have souls. Will's a witch, but she's human, you know about her. Slayer," she said, indication herself "Human. Dawn, my sister, human, Giles and Wesley were watchers, human, Principal Wood's mother was a slayer, human, and Cordy, and Xander are human, with nothing special, no talents."

"Not true! Through circumstances that are just way too long to discuss, I now have visions. And, a small part demon, but that's besides the point," Cordelia interrupted.

"O…k…anyway, getting on with it…" Just then, she was interrupted by the doorbell "AGG!" She screamed.

"I'll get it!" Andrew scurried to get the door. "Buffy, it's for you!" He called.

"Grrr!" She muttered as she went to the door.

"Buffy, we need to talk. Somewhere private," the caller said, looking at Andrew.

"Riley, come in, join the party," Buffy said, vexed.

"I really don't have time. I have a platoon of men landing tonight, and more ready to ship off, at my command. I really need to speak with you."

"You and everybody else. Take a number." With that, she walked into the living room, and took her seat.

"Ha! I knew it! Look what you did, Xander, you jinxed us!" Anya cried.

"Get over it."

"Uh, hi all. Buffy, what's going on?" Riley asked her, looking at all the old, and new faces.

"Find a seat, and I'll explain. I trust you're here because of what's going down, right?"

"Yes, big, nasty, and soon."

"Look, all Buffy's boyfriend's in one room, this could get interesting," Spike said, he then looked at Wood, "Sorry, chap, but you haven't shagged her yet, you don't count!"

"Spike, stuff it. We don't have time. None of us would be here, if it wasn't for the First Evil. Now, let's get down to business," Buffy said, before adding "Finally."

**Los Angeles**

**Wednesday 2 am**

"Ahh, Connor, so nice to meet you at last," Said the First/Darla

"Excuse me, do I know you?"

"You don't even recognize your own mother?"

"Sorry, just well, you were dust when I was born," Connor said, cautious.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. It was the only way."

"Ok, what do you want from me, you're dead."

"I've been dead a long time, my son. My, how you've grown. I've missed you, missed seeing you grow up, but I've been watching you, watching over you."

"Ah, thanks, mom."

"I came to tell you something very important. Listen carefully. Something huge is going down, and you're on the wrong side. Your father can't, won't protect you from what's about to happen, and he'll turn on you if you're not careful. Be careful. Please, don't risk yourself; you'll just get hurt for nothing. My dear, sweet baby, you're lucky that you're grown, you can take your place in all of this, on my side, please, join me. We can be a team, I am allied with the greatest powers, and we'll squash the opposing side like a bug! Join me."

"I can't, I'm here. Angel will kill me if I go against him."

"Your equally matched, don't you see! You're just as strong as him, if not stronger. You're a new generation! He is old, and weak."

"He's not weak!"

"If you will not join me, then you will suffer. Heed my warning, he will turn on you, and he will kill you, if you are not ready. He will catch you off guard. Be on the watch. Be careful, my sweet innocent baby."

"Ok, mom, I'll be careful."

"I have to go, I never should have come. Goodbye, my child!"

"Bye…" with that, Connor woke up. He saw his mother beside his bed, he reached out for her, but she pulled back, she waved as she disappeared. He didn't believe a word that she said, he was smarter than that, but he decided to keep it in prospective.

"Connor, who are you talking to?" he heard Fred ask.

"Just a dream!" he called, laughing to himself. She was so overprotective of him! Hadn't she realized that he was no longer a baby?


	9. Chapter 9

**Sunnydale**

**Summer's residence**

**Tuesday night**

"Ok, since you're our guests, do you have any problems this 'super fighting force' we seem to have going on here, anything we can help you with?" Buffy asked the Halliwells. Angel instinctively checked to make sure the blinds were closed; he could smell the fastly approaching dawn. He noticed Spike doing the same.

"Buffy, we really need to work on this here, not worrying about what's going on in other parts of California!" Riley interrupted.

"Well, we aren't," she snapped at him, feeling the pressure of everyone being there, "I told you to wait. They were here before you. So you can suck it up, shut up, and wait!" Buffy said through gritted teeth, her patience tested and tried. _This is even more uncomfortable than I thought it would be!_

"Well, nothing really big, compared to your situations, just excess demons galore," Paige said for her sisters.

"It's the First. Normally they would conjugate here, but the First has them running away like…sissies, for lack of better term," Giles said, rubbing his eyes.

"Nicely put, Giles. Ok, so we've solved that problem, once we stop the First, everything should go back to normal. Angel, what up in L.A.?"

"Apocalypse. A demon we've been calling the Beast for lack of a better name. He's brought eternal night, blocking out the sun. Rain of Fire, all that good stuff."

"Free for all feeding frenzy." Buffy summed it up, nodding. "Giles, Wesley, research. Wes, I know that you've done research, but Giles has more books and references than you."

"All of the pages about this demon were ripped out in this dimension." Wesley told her.

"Ok, then, Anya, I know you not a demon, but you have connections. It's almost morning," she sighed, "Great," she said sarcastically. "Spike, Anya, you go do I don't know what, but see if anybody has other references, from different dimensions."

"I know someone who would have what we're looking for," Anya stated. "It's gonna cost me, though. Big time, if you know what I'm saying," Anya crossed her arms over her breasts, not looking happy.

"Spike, Anya, take weapons, we don't know what's out there. Be careful, this is no longer the world it was in September."

"Don't have to tell us that," Spike said, "We can feel it, remember?"

"Just go. Will, can you think up anything that might help us?"

"Buffy, the Beast is strong. He took everything we gave him, and was ready for more," Angel said, worried, unsure how this was going to help.

"Let's see what he'll do with a platoon of trained soldiers fighting him," Riley said, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorframe.

"He wiped out Wolfram and Hart! That company, and more than a few of its employees have been around since the dawn of time," Wesley said, "A platoon, no matter how well prepared it might be, will be no more irritancy than a fly."

"Will, we're gonna need magic. I know you're squeamish about it still, but you have to face your fears! We all do," Buffy said quietly, turning to put a hand on her best friend's knee. Willow and the Charmed Ones had taken the couch, Dawn was in the arm chair, Leo was by Piper's shoulder, Spike and Xander were on either side of the mantle, Angel was standing behind Dawn, Giles and Wesley were standing close to the door, and Riley was actually in the doorway. And Andrew was peeking around the doorframe, pretending to be invisible. She sighed, she herself sitting on the coffee table, how were they all going to be able to work together to defeat this thing?

"Buffy, what do you want me to do?" Angel asked, concerned for her safety.

"Training. The girls have been fighting Spike for a while, but you're a whole other story. So your with me." She looked at the Charmed ones, "I don't really know you, but you're witches, right? You can help Willow."

"What do I do!" Riley asked, standing up.

"Go back where you came from. This is too big for humans," Angel growled.

"No. Most of these people are humans!"

"I can't have your men's deaths on my conscious. Leave," Buffy said, her tone deadly, "Please," she added as an afterthought, irritated that she had to plead with him.

"No."

"Fine, just stay out of our way," Buffy said, blowing him off, going to the trunk behind the chair, "Patrol, or something! There's nothing around, but hey, you might get lucky. Does everybody have something to do? Ok, good. We're done here. Dawn, get the girls."

"What about us?" Xander asked, for him and Cordy.

"Research"

"Oo! Goodie!" Cordelia said sarcastically, "Research! Can I? Please, please, please?"

"What about me?" Andrew asked.

"Same, research."

"Really now, Buffy, we don't need his help."

"Giles, I'm sorry, but get over it. This is bigger than all of us! We have to either work together, or die. And many of us will die, but so that others can go on living, so that others can miss them!"

"Fine." Someone rang the doorbell. "GET THAT THING UNHOOKED!" Buffy yelled.

"Hey, B, what's new?" said the newest arrival, letting herself in.

"Faith? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, astonished. Last thing she knew, Faith was in jail, for a very long time. "How'd you get out?"

"They, well, they looked the other way, while I escaped. I knew that they wouldn't worry too much, because they seem to know about the slayer bit. Besides that, I was really good. I've been training, though. I swear I've changed, B, and I won't do anything wrong."

"I hope not too much. We're going to need you in the fight, we'll need you big time."

"Wait? What? They just let a psycho murderer, who they know has super powers escape?" Xander spoke up, for the first time.

"Hey, I figure that if the world ends, then they won't have to worry about it, now, will they? And I told them that. They were willing to look the other way. But, hey, they had to put up some sort of a fight, right?"

"Faith, I'd like you to meet the slayers-to-be," Buffy said, noticing Dawn and the others in the doorway. "Girls, this is the other slayer."

"How can that be!" Kennedy asked in disbelief, and shock.

"They obviously haven't been in Sunnydale that long if they think this is odd," Faith cracked. She entered the living room and saw all the faces and grinned. It was good to be home.

"Hey, Wes, you're looking good! How's life treatin' ya?"

"Are you saying that until Faith dies, none of us will be called?" Rona asked.

"Something we overlooked," Buffy said, mentally kicking herself, hard.

"Hey, so what we doing? Maybe a little demon ass kicking?" Faith asked.

"Faith, the demon's have all left town, for the most part. They were afraid to stick around. And I'm still wondering why I'm still here," Xander explained.

"Then I'm in the right place. We're the things that make the evil run scared, right, B?"

"Faith, you're with us. Girls, meet Angel, he'll be taking Spike's place tonight."

"Vampire?"

"Yes, I wouldn't let you hurt a human. But for now," Buffy looked out the window, "I want you to continue training," Buffy said, and they nodded.

"Leo, are you sure that we can help? We're not going to get into trouble for personal gain, are we? Helping another witch?" Paige asked after the meeting had broken up.

"Positive. You are helping to save the world, helping to save over 6 billion innocents."

"You're right. But then why do I feel so strange about this?"

"Maybe because Willow has more power than all of us put together, even if she won't use it all?" Phoebe pointed out.

"Yeah, that might be it," Paige said with an awkward laugh. They were all lagging on the stairs, but they now caught up to Will; she was unlocking a door. The door was kept locked, with only her, Buffy, and Giles with keys.

"Willow, is Buffy normally so bossy?" Paige asked, getting a glare from her sisters.

"Not normally, only when it's time to get down to business. She was like this right before Graduation," Willow hoped that explained everything.

"Ok, I know it's a bit cramped, but it will have to do. This is everything we saved from the Magic Box, a magic store that Anya and Giles owned, before I destroyed it. Those," she pointed to the highest shelf "are books with very powerful spells. I wasn't allowed around them for a long time, when they were in the store. They're pretty much back to normal…these contain lesser magic, and these books contain beginner magic," she said, pointing to each set of books in turn. "All the herbs, even the most obscure herbs are here," she pointed to one wall that had many spice racks hanging from it. "Here are candles, all colors, all lengths, smokeless, extra smoky, scented, unscented, extra long wicks, tapered, anything you'd ever need." She walked over to an armoire of sorts, and opened it. "Here, we keep the stranger ingredients, chicken feet, frog's eyes, you name it." She closed it up again. "I think we should start with the high power books. I don't know exactly if we'll find anything, but it's worth a try."

"How about searching The Book of shadows first?" Leo asked.

"We don't have a Book of Shadows, mine got burned when the witch burning was going on, and I destroyed the beginner ones when I destroyed the magic box. We haven't gotten a chance to get a new one," Willow explained, sheepish.

"We have one, though," Piper said, taking it out of the backpack Phoebe was carrying.

"Oh, sorry."

They looked through the book, but without knowing exactly what type of demon he was, they couldn't find anything to use on the Beast.

"This is hard! If we were in the manor, Grams could help."

"Why?" Willow wondered.

"Grams, our grandmother, died before we got out powers back. She sometimes helps us by pointing us in the right direction," Phoebe explained.

"Well, I didn't see anything that would work on the First, either. Sorry, Willow."

"Wait, wait, wait! I just thought of something!" Willow ran out of the room, looking for Giles.

"Willow, what is it!" Giles asked, once she had found him. The others were hot on her trail.

Willow talked a mile a minute, but she finally got her idea out. Giles was skeptical, but Willow was certain it would work.

"Willow, this could be a last resort, but I'm not sure if it will work, and I don't want Buffy to be put in danger, if this might not work. We don't even know how to kill this demon!" Giles told her sternly, his tone daring her to argue with him.

Willow nodded, going to her room, grabbing some of her personal books, and bringing them down to the living room-which was actually empty- with a pen and pad of paper.

"Willow, what spell were you talking about?" Paige asked, always inquisitive.

Willow explained it quickly, flipping through one of the books.

"Well, I'm game to try," Paige said.

"Yeah, we are too."

"Thanks, guys, but Giles pretty much has the last say around here, I don't think we'll get to do it."

"I thought Buffy had last word?" Paige argued.

"She does, but Giles has power over her. If he doesn't want to do it, the spell might not work!"

"Buffy couldn't talk him into it?"

"She could try, but he's British, he's stubborn. The last time he was dead set on anything like this, the only way Buffy won was when she knocked him out!"

"We don't want that to happen. If she actually fights demons and vamps, then she has to be strong," Paige said.

"Stronger than you can imagine! She's stronger now than she was when she started, at age 15, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually too! Just a few weeks ago, she had to fight an Ubervampire, the Neanderthal of bloodsuckers, of sorts. After taking a beating, which was sorta planned, to get the girl's attention and support, she took some wire, and cut his head off, by wrapping it around his neck, and pulling! She then said something witty, like she always does, 'Dust, just like the rest of them.' We, well, they, meaning the slayers-to-be, didn't think that he could be killed, Buffy staked him once before, but it didn't really work."

"Okay…" Paige said, lost, but trying to look interested.

"Yeah, but it does come with a price. One girl, Chloe committed suicide, and well, Buffy blew up at everybody. She hated it that she was so strong, and she had to use it digging graves. She had every right to be mad, at all of us! I wasn't using my magic to my full potential, Spike was being all mopey. The girls, well, they're just girls still, they don't have any powers at all! Well, not yet. They're trying their hardest, but they just can't compete with her, because she has the powers, and they don't. And she can be a real bitch when she wants to be."

"So, who's Riley?" Phoebe asked, getting some vibes from him during the meeting.

"Long story. Cliffnotes version, Buffy met him at college. He's a military guy, taken from special ops, to the Initiative, where they hunt and research demons. They dated for awhile, he found out about her being the slayer, and then Dracula tricked her, drank from her. Riley wanted to know why she let him bite her, wanted to know what she felt. Buffy found him in a nest; he was being paid to feed them. They had a fight, he rejoined the military, she tried to stop him, but she was too late. He came back about ten months after he left, found out about her escapades with Spike, and she found out he was married. Besides Angel, he was the only _human_ she ever loved. I'm not sure if Angel counts, he's not human, anymore."

"Poor Buffy. She definitely has the wrong choice in dates," Paige said

"Yeah, but we've all had our problems. The hellmouth and love just don't mix."

"Magic and love don't mix," Phoebe correctly, "Cole…well, we dated, and we married and I was going to have his child. I didn't know about who he really was."

"And I've dated a few warlocks, and demons," Piper said, proving the point, "As well as a whitelighter. That kinda turned out okay," she said, smiling, and kissing Leo.

"Yeah. So what are we going to do know?" Paige asked.

"Well, modify the spell, so it will be ready when we bring it up, so it won't be as big a hassle. Though, it packs a wallop. And we had strange dreams afterwards. Though that might have been something totally different."

"It's a risk we'll have to take, Willow. What was the spell originally?"

"I'm not totally sure, I'll have to think about it. I can't remember if we got it in a book, or if we wrote it," Willow, aggravated with herself, told the little group. She then looked at the clock, and noted the time. It was late. Well, late for not really having slept. "I think that you should go on up to bed. Well, we have bed's for you, but they're pretty cramped. We have the girl's in two rooms, instead of three, and gave you guys the now vacant room. I know it's gonna be crowded, but I'm really sorry. I don't know what we're going to do with Wesley, Angel, Cordy, Riley, and Faith! We're already booked up!"

"We could leave, and come back," Piper said, unexpectedly.

"NO! It took us a good part of a day to get here, you guys can't leave!" Willow exclaimed, horrified of what Buffy would think if she knew she had let them leave.

"Will, we can orb out tonight, and come back. It's won't be any trouble. I normally sleep better in my own bed anyway," Paige said, and Phoebe elbowed her in the ribs, she was being rude.

"Then why did we drive here?" Will asked, confused.

"Because with all of us, it would have taken a few trips, and I'm not sure if it would work for vampires. Leo, do you have any idea?"

"I've never orbed a vampire before. Piper can freeze a vampire, Prue would have been able to throw a vampire across the room, but I seriously don't know. I've never been in a situation like this."

"I don't mean to be rude, but why do you keep asking Leo's opinion? He's the same age as you, right?" Willow asked.

"No, The age I look now, is the age that I died at, in WWII. I know more about their powers then they do, because, well, it's my job to protect them, and it helps to protect if I know what their powers can do."

"Sorta like Giles! He knows more about Buff's slayer powers because he was trained to know what they are, and about demons too."

"Going back to the spell, do you think you wrote it down anywhere, like a diary?" Piper asked.

"OH! Yes! I did keep a diary back then! One sec!" Willow rushed out of the room, and quickly came back, holding a little pink fuzzy book in her hands. "If you think this is bad, you should have seen some of the clothes I wore," she laughed, holding up the book. She sat down on the floor. "Let me see now…" she flipped through the pages of the book, and Piper, Phoebe and Paige could see the delicate, loopy script written in purple ink. She stopped every so often to read what she had written in her younger years. Eventually, she stopped at a page almost at the end of the diary. "Here it is!" she said, and continued to read that entry out loud.

"So that's how we did it! Ok, so If we change it…." Willlow said, ripping out a blank page, and started scribbling.

After about fifteen minutes of sitting and watching, Paige asked "Willow, can you let us in on this, we're here to help!"

"Oh, sorry! I was thinking that if we split up into a few different groups of four, have four 'champions', or fighters, and then do the spell that way, we could have a super fighting force." Willow bubbled.

"Yeah, but Will, who will the four be? The spell seems to be geared towards slayers, and there are only two."

"Oh, Angel and Spike should work nicely!"

"But can you call upon the first slayer to inhabit a vampire?" Leo asked.

"Oh," Willow said. "I didn't think of that! What if it was the first vampire?"

"Would it disrupt their souls?"

"I don't know…"


	10. Chapter 10 Preparing

Later that evening, Buffy gathered the girls together in the living room, along with Robin Faith and Angel. "Okay, tonight's going to be a bit different than patrolling has been in the past," Buffy told them, "Angel can, and will, hurt you. We'll go over the game plan when we're actually at the cemetary. You have to be on your guard at all times, or else. Robin, could you help me with weapons?"

"OOO! Weapons, what type? I haven't been allowed around weapons in ages," Faith said, cracking her knuckles. "Well, except when someone tries to kill me with one."

"Don't let the mad slayer touch the weapons," Buffy whispered to Robin; she was only partially joking.

"Aww, come on, B, 'fraid I'll hurt him?" she asked, punching Angel in the shoulder, lightly.

"No, afraid he'll hurt you."

"So, is this going to be a fair fight?" Angel wanted to know, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Angel, they have to be trained with weapons. Spike, with his chip, wasn't enough. We're lucky you came. Now they can be trained against a real vampire."

Angel liked the compliment, but he pressed, not letting his emotions show, "But what skills do they possess? Slayer accuracy? Self control? Strength?"

"They're just girls, Angel."

"That's what I was afraid of. I'll try not to hurt them, but I've been going against demons for a long time, haven't fought any girls lately."

"Don't worry, they'll be fine. They've been put through boot camp. They can handle anything you dish out," Kennedy said, happy with herself.

"If you say so," Angel said, looking doubtful.

**Church of Eternal Life Cemetary.**

"Ok, Angel, here's the plan. You go hide, like the evil, dangerous vampire you are. I will send the girls out in groups of two or three. Feel free to do whatever you please, just…act like a vampire," Buffy told him once they had reached the cemetary.

"That shouldn't be too hard, right?" Faith said, mocking Angel.

"Faith, enough. We'll be following the groups. Girls, just don't stake him. In fact…" She opened her bag, and pulled out some stakes. "Use these, they're plastic wood. Won't kill him. Hurt like hell, but not kill him. The test is to see if you get a chance to use them."

"Hey, wait, they get weapons?" Angel asked, in one of his better moods. Just being around Buffy lifted his spirits.

"You are a weapon!" Buffy cried. "Go, hurry up!" He ran off into the bushes. "Now, some back story. Angel, before his soul, Angelus, is over 240 years old, so he must have done something right to stay alive so long. He was the scourge of Europe, and had a very bad rep." She continued on with her tale, mentally counting down to two minutes to give Angel sufficient time. "He was changed in a darkened ally, you could say he was born in shadows, Shadows are his best friends. Now, you two." Buffy pointed to two girls, she couldn't remember their names at the moment, even after so long, being with Angel invigorated her, "You're up first." She tossed them two stakes, and as they started off, she and the rest fell in behind, the slayers first, then the slayers-to-be.

The First Evil watched atop a Masoleum, with Drusilla by her side. Dru was disgusted with Angelus, helping train slayers. _But he's done it in the past, _she reminded herself. She knew that she wasn't going to miss the big party.

**Buffy's house**

"Buffy! Buffy! We came up with something for the Beast! And it's simple, we've done it before!" Willow jumped off the couch and ran excitedly to her friend as soon as she came in the door. She had stayed up all day working on it, and though she was exhausted, she thought it just might work. She grabbed her arms and spun her around.

"Woa! Will, what's gotten into you? Have you beeing sniffing the insence again! We told you that that could seriously hurt you, remember?" Buffy joked, her best friend's good mood infecting her own already high mood.

"Oh, real funny! Remember Adam? That spell could work, we'd just need to switch some stuff around. And it wouldn't have to be just you, but Faith, and Angel and Spike, we could get the spell to work with them too, if we try."

"Willow! I told you that it was a long shot, and I didn't want you to tell Buffy unless as a last resort!" Giles came into the room, and he was pissed off.

"Giles, I told her to tell me anything that she came up with. If you're upset, don't be with her, she was following my request."

"Your too strong minded! All of you!" Giles huffed as he went back into the dining room, now the research room.

"Will, how will that work, I'm not on the best terms with the First right now." Some of the girls looked confused, They didn't think that Buffy had ever been on the best terms with The First Evil.

"I know, and Angel and Spike, they're vampires, so she won't come to them, but she might come to Faith, it's is a desperate time, desperate times call for desperate measures, right? As well as, we called the past slayers, all of them. They will come to you. The spell will need some tweaking, and no matter what I do, I don't think the girls can be apart of it. Sorry guys." she addressed the group. "But there are just too many of you, and the spell is already very difficult, I don't know how it will work with four groups, never mind if we did more! We need tarot cards, as well. I have two sets, but I don't have four."

"Work on that! Good job. We had a successful night training, didn't we girls?" They all groaned in respose, some rubbing a shoulder, or another joint. "I told Angel not to go soft on them, they need to be ready," Buffy explained to Willow.

"Ahh."

"Now, off to bed, all of you! Willow, Angel, Faith, come with me. Piper, Pheobe, Paige, Leo, you're welcome, if you want," she offered, noticing that they had changed their clothes. They had gone home to sleep for a few hours. "I don't know how long we'll be. Is Spike or Anya back yet?" she asked.

"Good timing on our part," Spike said, opening the door. Anya came in muttering behind him.

"Stupid demon! I so wish I had my powers! So what if I'm weak now, I wasn't! He was afraid of me! And now he think's I've gone kitteny and soft! Oooo! I'll show him! Let a plague of… ug! Bunnies! Come down upon me if I don't!" She shook in terror at the mention of bunnies. She walked up the stairs and they heard a door slam.

"Well, Hello to you to. Spike, what happened?" Buffy asked.

"Went to one of her friends, and she tried to get him to help, but he wasn't willing. Well, now he is, after I persuaded him. He promised to check around."

"Well, Buffy, all, girls, see you tomorrow." Wood said, leaving. As much as he wanted to see Spike ragged on, he still had a job, unlike the rest of the slayer tag-a-longs.

"Are you sure this guy will help? What if he rats on us? We have to tread carefully."

"He's more afraid of me now then he is of that beast. He'll offer an offering, if ya know what I mean, because he know the penalty if he doesn't. Oh, hey, I let it drop that there are now two slayers."

"SPIKE! That was our secret weapon! Scratch that plan! Girls, why are you still here! GO! Up to bed! Spike, come with me."

"Wh..what about me?" Dawn asked.

"Bed."

"Aww, come on…"

"No, you need sleep. School tomorrow." She saw Dawn resisting. "Now!"

"Fine, fine!" Dawn stomped up to bed.

"So, down to business. Spike, Will found a spell. You know a bit about it. But Faith doesn't, she was either in jail, on the run, or in a coma, I don't remember which, so here's the skinny…" She explained the spell Will had remembered.

"She's talking about altering it, Will, you go ahead, it's your idea."

Willow explained her ideas, and who would be what symbol. "You guys, Spike, Angel, Faith, you need to be on board here. We can't do this without you. Well, we could use Riley, but what would we summon, the first human? It wouldn't work. We can figure something out with you guys."

"I'm in."

"I'm always ready for some demon ass kickin'!"

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Ok, then, let me work on it, and figure out exactly what we're dealing with. I can't promise that I'm certain that this will work. Because I'm not. I'm stronger than I was then, but, I'm not sure if Giles is willing to help. If he's not, that source of information, and well, expertice, is gone, unavailable."

"Don't worry, Will, you just get the spell to work, I'll convince Giles," Buffy stated.

"Well, we don't really have anything else to do, except get the spell to work, I don't need any of you, except the Charmed Ones."

"Ok, then everybody, off to bed, it's been a long day, and we'll all think better after we've had some rest," Buffy ordered. She turned to the charmed ones, "I don't know you well enough to order you around, but I would suggest you get some sleep too, it's been a really long day."

"Bye, Buffy," Xander and Anya called, as they left for their respective apartments. They had lately been staying, but Buffy had to kick them out because there was no more room.

"Buffy…"

"Angel, I'm sorry. I wasn't ordering you around," Buffy said, turning to him, thinking she knew why his tone was such, "You're a guest, a non human who doesn't really need to sleep. You do whatever you want. I don't know when the spell will be done, but we may need you tomorrow, during the day."

"I was going to ask where I'm staying."

"Oh! Um, Spike's staying in the cellar."

"Oh! No! I had to deal with him for plenty of years when he was Angelus! I don't care for him, and I will not share my crib with him!" Spike interupted.

"It's my house, remember? You're lucky your allowed in. We can change that at anytime, ok? While you're here, you take orders from me, and I say be a nice vampire, and SHARE!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike mock saluted. "You get the floor! I get the cot!" Spike said to Angel.

"Whatever." He turned to Buffy, "Goodnight." Oh, how he longed to take her into his arms. But he restrained himself, and watched her climb the stairs to her room.

Wednesday Morning 

"Good morning girls! Rise and Shine! Dawn, Amanda, school! I know the hellmouth is wacky, but you'll just have to deal," She said, knocking on the bedroom door that held the girls. "Hey, hurry up in there!" she said, banging on the bathroom door, next door to one of the rooms. She wanted to be done before the mad rush of teenaged girls.

"Hold on a minute! Jesus!" Andrew's voice came from within.

"Great, why does he always get there before I do?" Buffy muttered. Willow came down the hall, yawning, with big purple stains under her eyes. "You're lucky you got here before-" Screaming came from the girls room, and five of them came charging out of the door. Dawn, in the lead, was still trying to get her covers off. "They got here."

"Finally!" Buffy said, as she turned and noticed that Andrew was done with the bathroom. Buffy pushed him out of the way, and rushed into the bathroom, closing it in the girls faces. A muffled "HEY!" was heard from the other side. Buffy just smiled. Slayer reflexes came in handy for things other than slaying.

"Ok, Kennedy, you're in charge. Make sure you get in some training as well. Sparring today, maybe. Willow's in charge over you. Any problems, go to her. Spike and Angel are not to be disturbed. Regular rules. Be polite and curtious to our guests. They may choose not to help us, if you're not well behaved. I'll be back at lunch to check in. Be good."

"We already know this," one girl complained.

"I know, but it sometimes pays off to remind you. Dawn, Amanda, come with me. Xander should be here any second…" A car honked outside. "There he is now. Be good."

"Hey Xander!" Dawn said, bouncing into the back seat, scooting over so Amanda could get in.

"Hey, Dawnie! Ready for another fun filled day of learning?"

"Of course not."

"Yeah, me neither. That's why I'm in construction!"

Buffy's day was pretty uneventfull, a few fights, a food fight, a couple kids caught smoking. She checked the seal whenever possible, and met Wood down there on a couple occasions, and it made her feel, well, safer, knowing that he was checking as well, and not so crazy. She went home at lunch, to find the girls in the backyard, fully padded, and beating on each other. She smiled at the sight. She also checked on how Angel and Spike were doing. They were comparing notes on the whole soul business. Her afternoon was even less eventful than her morning. She decided to roam the halls, a past time she reveled in, having not been able to when she was in school. It made her feel important, and powerful.

She got home after school, to find Willow tutoring the girls. She remembered when Ms. Calendar had died, and Willow had taken over for her, she was such a good teacher, besides making sure Buffy and Xander didn't flunk out of school. She saw the smile on Willow's face, and realized that she really enjoyed all those sessions helping her and Xander.

"So, how's the spell coming?" she asked once Willow let the girls take a break.

"Fine. I used this whiteboard to help me organise my thoughts, and I came up with this," she showed Buffy a board, pairing Buffy with Xander, Giles and Willow, Angel with Wood, Cordelia, yet she had no one for Mind. She had paired Spike with Wesley, Leo and Anya, and Faith with Phoebe, Piper and Paige.

"So who are we missing? There's a blank spot!" Buffy said.

"We need another smart person. I was hoping that maybe you knew someone, or Giles or Angel knew someone."

"Ok, I'll check around. There's got to be someone," she squeezed Willow's arm, "Thank you for doing this, we're so close. I can feel it."


	11. Chapter 11

"Angel, need your help. Do you know any brainiacs that would help us with a spell?" Buffy asked, getting straight to the point, fighting the babble. Lately, she had been starting to babble around Angel, and she didn't know why. She thought that she was over him. It had been four years, and two boyfriends ago. She'd better be over him. She wasn't sure if she was over Riley, or even Spike, but she was so over Angel.

"Fred," he said, "she knows a lot about sciences and demonic dimensions," he told her, not elaborating further.

"Ok, well, then let her know whats going on, and have her come on up. One more person shouldn't disrupt anything."

"Ok, I'll do that."

Buffy headed upstairs. "Will, we got someone. Angel will take care of it," she told her best friend once she reached her door.

"Okay," Willow murmured, lost in thought. She was trying her hardest to come up with a way that the spell would work. "If I take this out, no, no, that won't work," she mused to herself, "But I can't call the First for Angel and Spike, what if I called the First Vampire? Would that hinder them in any way? What if I took that out, no no. Can't be doing that, they won't be strong enough. What if it took their souls, then returned them after? No, that's just too dangerous. Spike maybe not… Angelus definitly…" Buffy left her friend to figure it out in solitude.

About two hours later, Willow came running down the stairs with a sheet of paper in her hand.

"I've got it!I'VE GOT IT!" she yelled triumphantly. She handed the sheet to Buffy. "It's gonna be dangerous, but we can manage. I think that The Charmed ones should be one group, with Faith, the scoobies should be your group, Buff. Angel, well, just look here, I have it all mapped out!" Buffy looked at the completed chart, Fred's name filling in the blank. The names were color coded to a circle, that was placed strategicly in a square, placed inside a larger circle. A pentagram was lightly scetched through it all, and a symbol that Buffy recognised as a protection symbol as well was around the circles.

"Wow, Will, you're not taking any chances. Are you sure this will work?" she asked, motioning to the symbols.

"I'm certain. Piper gave me the idea of the square inside a circle. The circle will be there figuratiely, it will be a protective circle, with lavender and other protective plants making it up. We don't want anything going wrong. I won't let it, I've spent so much time and energy in this, I just know it has to work!"

"Well, it's getting late, why don't you go take a nap? It's awhile before dark, when we'll gather bofore we train. Go and relax. I promise I won't tell anyone about your hard work until you are there. Go get some rest," Buffy shooed Willow to her room.

"Ok, Will's got a major idea. She modified, with the help of the Charmed Ones, a spell that we've used in the past, a spell to combine our essenses. Will has modified the spell, so that now, instead of only four of us, there will be sixteen of us, and we will do the spell together, and Angel, Spike, Faith and I shall fight this beast, though you will be in us, helping. Girls, Dawn, you won't be helping, because this beast is too dangerous, even for girls trained in fighting. If Angel couldn't touch him, you couldn't either. We will need you in the fight that comes after, though. L.A. has turned into Vampire Town, no sun, and few humans.We will go out in full force, and try to save the town.

"Also, there is one thing I've neglected to tell you. Awhile ago, I had a prophetic dream, of sorts. The turok han that I killed wasn't the last of them, not by a long shot."

"That's impossible odds though. How can the few of us be able to take out that many vampires? Especially if they're ubervamps!" one of the potentials asked over the din at Buffy's announcement. More ubervamps?

"Not with our super fighting force. We'll have souped up slayers, vampires, Riley has a hundred men flying in, all trained for this type of thing, as well as you guys. I don't know exactly how it will work, but the spells have to stay intact for as long as possible. Which means that the spell castors can't be bothered, or we'll lose power given to us through the spell, and we'll be out of the fight for good, because the spell is very draining."

"But that means we'll be out of the action!" Paige cried.

"Yes, unless you'd like to give up your spots, and we can proble find three others to sit in your place. Giles, what about that coven in England? Would they help us, the ones who found the slayers-to-be? Or what about that coven that helped you, well, defeat Willow, would they be willing to help? We need as much magicly inclined people as we can find for this."

"Lorne could help. He's done some stuff, though not of this magnitude."

"Buffy, I've detected a flaw in your plans. How are you to fight both the beast, as well as the Turok Han, when they're in different places? The spell castors have to be near by, even if Willow has souped up the spell, you couldn't be more than three miles away form the castors," Giles pointed out.

"Damn! I knew there was something wrong here! Damn, damn DAMN! Now what! Anybody got any suggestions?"

"Simple, if you have four sets, and two places, simple math. Four divided by two is two. Two groups in Sunnydale, two in L.A," Xander spoke up.

"Xander! Those late night study sessions actully worked out!" Willow cried mock delight, teasing her friend.

"Hey, so I passed math senior year with a 79.6. No big."

"No, that's a great idea, Xander! But, now who stays here, who goes to L.A.?"

"One slayer, one vampire." Spike said.

"Right. But who? The groups are rather well spread out. We couldn't choose by who's in L.A. now, because they're all mixed up."

"I'll go to L.A," Angel said. "It's my town, I feel as if I should protect it."

"So, then, Faith, any prefrececes?"

"Nope. Rock paper scissors?"

"Buffy, I think that you'll be more usful here, unless your sending some of us to L.A., and some stay here," Kennedy spoke up. "We all respect you, even if we don't show it, and we don't know Faith well enough, but we'll do what she says, most of us, anyway. We look up to you."

"Ok, good point. Do we want to split the slayersquad, or what? Angel, it's up to you, we've taken many of your people for the spell, do you think you'll need help?"

"I'm not sure. We really don't have anything on this guy."

"Buffy, what about me?" Leo spoke up for the first time.

"Would any of your whitelighter buddies be willing to help? There are going to be casualties, no matter how careful we are. We'll need people to help heal."

"Ok, let me ask them." He said, and then was silent a moment. "Yeah, they want me anyway. I'll be back, hopefully soon." He kissed Piper and Wyatt then orbed out.

"Ok, well unless we have anything else to discuss, then, girls, Faith, Spike, Angel, training. Giles find anyone you can who would want to help. Cordy, call L.A. See if there is anyone ther who knows anyone who can help us. This is the big time, guys, we're now counting down the days till Armagendon. Paige, Piper, Pheobe, whatever your think you might need, stock up, buy in bulk. I can't help you with cost, sorry, but do whatever you can. I'm no wiccan expert, so just go with what your gut tells you."

"Okay," the sisters said as one, looking from one to the other.

"Girls, come on. Dawn, you can come too. You, as much as I hate it, and mom would kill me, might be needed to help out."

"Ok." Everybody dispersed.

Cemetary 

"Tonight, we're gonna do something different. We have only bee doing one versus many. But that won't be the case soon. It's going to be many of them, versus few of you. You're all comfortable in small groups. But, for the most part, as slayer, there's only one of you, and a lot of them. This game plan will take longer, but it will be productive," Buffy addressed the girls, pacing in front of them, mostly thinking out loud.

"There are now two vampires, and you're going out alone. You will also be critiqued by your peers, us. Now, only constructive comments, that will help the testee, no rude, or hurtful coments, ok?"

"Yeah, or you'll have me to deal with." Faith spoke up. Many of the girls jumped, they had forgotten she was there. She was leaning up against a masoleum, her tight black leather pants, and her black tanktop blended in with the shadows.

"Faith," Buffy warned. "Tomorrow, I might just stay home, and we could try some other exersises, it all depends on how you do tonight. Angel, Spike, see ya." She watched them run off together. "Now, even though there hasn't been very much activity lately, I hope that you're all prepared. Who knows what's going to happen. You all have your plastic stakes? The ones you didn't use last night? Good. Lets put them to use shall we? Amanda, your first!" Buffy called. Amanda nervously walked form the back of the group, and started off. Being one of the newest, she was rather nervous. She walked through the cemetary, peering into shadows, and into masoleums, but the two vampires were nowhere to be found.

"What now?" She asked.

"Keep searching. They're out there, they're always out there, waiting for the kill." Amanda gulped nervously at this.

"So, who gets to jump the first one, do you want to do the honors?" Spike asked. They were sitting in the shadows right near by where the testee was standing. They could hear her every footstep. "Hey, let's get in that crypt over there, and jump her when she checks it!" Spike said.

"Spike, these Turok han, I've heard of them. They're not gonna wait in a crypt for a slayer to find them, they're gonna hunt them down, the fight would end up on open ground."

"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Hotshot!"

"Jump her from a tree. They won't be expecting it."

"So who gets to?"

"You can jump her from the front, I'll flank you from behind."

"Ok."

"But the next one's mine." So they climbed a tree about forty feet ahead, and waited for their quarry to walk by. Spike jumped first, hitting her, and dragging her to the ground. Angel was close behind. She scrambled up, but she had lost her stake, and she soon lost. Spike grabbed her from behind, and tilted her head back, as if to bite.

"Dead." He proclaimed, and let her go. She immediately scrambled for her stake.

"Problems?" Buffy asked.

"She lost her stake, her weapon," one girl said instantly.

"Too slow in getting up. She would have been dead before she got off the ground," another girl said.

"When would a vamp attack you from a tree?" Kennedy asked.

"Maybe not a tree, too creative, but I've been jumped from walls, roofs, stairs, dumpsters. You always have to be on the lookout. Anything else? Anything she did good, perhaps?"

"She checked every corner, even if she didn't find them."

"She was too uptight, too nervous," Faith announced, leaning against the tree. "Ya gotta loosen up, no tight muscles. All of ya."

"Good point. Ok, Kennedy, you're up next. Learn from Amanda's mistakes, just as she should learn from yours." Once again Angel and Spike ran into the night. This time they tripped the slayer as she was walking by a manhole. She was up quicker than Amanda, and she lasted longer, blocking blow after blow, and got in a few hits as well, but she got swept, and Angel dived on her.

"Another one down."

"Remarks?"

"She was looser."

"She fought with a natural air."

"Ok, but what about things she did wrong?" They all gave an opinnion, and then Buffy asked for the predator's remarks.

"She definitely is spry. She took to heart what happened with Amanda, too much, she was looking at the sky, and not her feet. We expected that, which is why the manhole."

"Good, you have to search everywhere, not just where you were jumped the last time. Ok, we'll finish up here, then we'll head to the streets. See what you do when your being followed." The other girls all took their turns, including Dawn, who fared the best. She was praised, and some were jealous, but she just said it was living with the slayer for eight years, even if she didn't know it.

"Ok, scenario time. It's late at night. You're out walking, where doesn't matter, from it doesn't matter. What are you going to do, if you feel like your being followed? You need to be able to sense when you are. We can't do all of you tonight, but the rest will go tomorrow. Now, some of you might not get followed. Some might, some might get attacked. Remember, it could be you're best friend, your neighbor, or a vampire. Dawn, you went last before, your first. Everybody go with her, except Faith, Angel, and Spike. Don't inhibit her view, watch from across the street. Watch what she does, where she hides, whatever. Hey, Dawn, no pressure. Walk to the Bronze. We'll meet you there." So Dawn started walking. The rest of the girls went across the street, and followed.

"Ok, Spike, go to about half way there, through the sewers, and follow her from there. Angel, shadows. Just tag along, but try not to let her see you. Faith. Try to trap her in an ally. Nobody attack her, unless you get a good opertunity, no going out of your way, only if she screws up major. Just make her feel as if she's being followed, I'm gonna follow the others, make them get the heebie jeebies. The others are also fair targets, they won't be expecting anything, because they're a larger group, and Dawn's the example. Have fun." With that, they all scattered, Spike into the sewers, Angel into the shadows, Faith into the allyways, and Buffy crossed the street, and followed in the shadows of buildings.

Dawn got about half way to the Bronze without any problems, but the others were lagging behind, she couldn't see them in her perephreal vision, and the back of her neck, the hairs kept standing on end. She knew that Buffy had chosen her because she knew a lot about the town's layout. She'd probably choose Amanda next, to give the others fair advantage.

Suddenly, she thought she heard something. But she wasn't sure, she strained, but it didn't come again. A few blocks up, she thought she saw something, but she once again wasn't sure. She saw something out of the corner of her eye, someone dart form one ally to another on the other side fo the street. She didn't bother herself with it, untill it darted across the street, into an ally she had passed a few minutes ago. She could hear footsteps on the hard cement.

Suddenly, from an allyway a few streets ahead, she wasn't sure which one, she heard a scuffle, then a scream. _They're just trying to scare you, Dawnie, pull yourself together._

_Well, it's definitly working!_

She eventually made it to the Bronze, and waited for the others to come. The girls came first, she could hear their chatter and laughter before she could see them. Spike hopped out of a manhole, and Angel materialized out of the shadows soon after. Buffy and Faith strolled up together.

"Comments?" The girls didn't say anything. "Well?" Still nothing. "Did you even pay attention?"

"What was there to pay attention to? She didn't get followed."

"Yeah, then why do I know that you were hoping to get home tonight to see Leanardo DiCaprio in Romeo and Juliet, and you were hoping that we would just hurry up?" Spike asked suddenly. They all looked ashamed.

"I also noted that you guys lagged way behind Dawn, and you were talking and laughing the whole way," Angel said.

"Please tell me he's lying," Buffy said, her voice hard, "But you can't because I heard you as well. You were talking about who was cuter, our Xander or Leonardo." They all hung their heads.

"This is really important, guys! My first night here in Sunnydale, when I was refusing my destiny, I was followed, and it was only because I was aware of it, that I wasn't hurt. And that my stalker was Angel."

"Yeah, her ability to think quickly on her feet," Angel interjected.

"What did she do?" they asked, interested in the slayer's past.

"Should we show them?" Buffy asked, turning to Angel, unsure if she wanted to go down memory lane for these girls. A walk down memory lane tended to hurt too much.

"Why not? Just don't hit me so hard, this time." So they all walked back to Buffy's house, Angel disappeared along the way. Buffy started recreating her walk from that night, seven and a half years ago. She noted that Angel came into the picture in the same place he had so long ago, and she ducked down the same ally. She knew that the girls were right behind her, but they hadn't turned the corner yet. She quickly jumped, and swung her weight up.

When the girls got to the ally, it was empty, they couldn't see her anywhere. Only Spike, Dawn and Faith, either knowing her so well, or knowing what she would do, spotted her on the bar, eighteen feet above the ally. Angel turned into the ally, and spotted her instantly, but for his role, he acted confused and cautious. He walked under her, and readied himself for the impact, and when it came, he was ready. He braced his body perfectly, and wasn't hurt at all. She placed her foot on his chest like she had that night, and began to talk.

"That, on my part, was some quick thinking. I had no clue who he was, or what he wanted. I took the risk that he wasn't just some petty thief, and jumped to the conclusion that he meant me harm. If he had been any other vampire, it would have saved my life. Now, I'm not saying go attacking everybody that follows you, but you have to be aware of your surroundings. Pretty good night. Let's go home and sleep. I have something planned for tomorrow, something different."

**Thursday**

Buffy called in sick that day for herself, as well as for Dawn and Amanda. She took them out into the backyard, and explained. She thought that what she had planned might be more of something that their watcher's might have done with them, for the watcher's council had made her do it.

She chose two girls, and blindfolded them. She explained that it was time for them to learn to use their other senses. She and Faith attacked one of the girls, not hurting them, too much. After a few rounds, they stopped.

They spent the afternoon by Buffy giving them free time, of sorts. They could spar, weight lift, or shadow box. She even let them use some padded weapons.

"Buffy, I need to speak with you," Riley said, coming up to her while she was inventorying her stock of weapons.

"Still? What is it? I don't have much time! There's a war going on, if you hadn't noticed."

"This is hard for me to say, swallowing my pride and all, Buffy, I'd live to stay in Sunnydale after the battle is over. I miss you terribly, and I want to be apart of your life again."

"What about your wife?" she asked, her emotions carefully guarded, her face blank.

"She's… no longer of the living. She was attacked by a Polgara demon, two months after we came here. She was checking a trap, and it snuck up on her."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't we talk about this, if we win the battle, because if we don't, the First will be dancing on our graves."

Leo came back that afternoon, with a bunch of friends on call. Giles asked him of he would go to England, and pick up some people, so Giles, Leo and Paige spent the day orbing to England and back, bringing some of the coven members willing to help. There were quite a few, and from a few different covens, the ones who helped Willow, and the one's that gave Giles the power, his old, old, old coven, at his university, and the ones who had found the slayers-to-be. These covens had in turn, shared their knowledge about what was going down, as Xander put it, with other covens, so they had about eight covens coming to help out.

"Normally, we keep our own secrets to ourselves," one coven member told Giles after seeing the shock of so many covens working together, "But this is the end of the world, so we let our rules slide for now."

Soon they had enough wiccans to do the spell without anybody else. So everybody gave up their spots, except Xander, Willow, and Giles. They were amandant that they would not give the fate of their slayer, their best friend, to some witches they didn't hardly know. The coven members weren't insulted, they accepted it as fate, and they all started to get ready for the spell they would have to do, to save their lives, and those of the 6 billion people around the world.


	12. Chapter 12 The Battle

Sunnydale 

**Thursday afternoon**

They prepared for battle. There had been sightings of the Ubervamp Army, and other demons pouring into town, some species that Buffy had never faced before. Suddenly, all the vampires and demons who had been lying low came out to play. The witches were all meditating, and cleansing their souls, and doing minor protections spells for the girls, and other fighters. Willow did her own spell of protection for Buffy and Dawn, and Kennedy, even if she was fighting in L.A. The three sisters were sitting in a corner, deep in thought, chanting "The Power Of Three will set us free. The Power Of Three will set us free," over and over again under their breaths. Buffy took a moment to look at them almost wistfully, they had such a tight bond between the three of them. The magic was building to a tremendous surge in the room.

At an hour to sundown, Buffy yelled above the din, "Showtime! Everybody get into position! Battle stances, everyone! We've prepared a long time for this, and some will not make it, but let's go down fighting, ok!"

"YEAH!" everybody screamed to Buffy's speech.

Willow, Giles, Xander and the three strongest witches from the three covens present, as well as others helping with the spell went into the cellar, where they sealed themselves in, with major protection spells. Some would be staying there, enhancing the protections spells and wards while the spell was going on, because if the spell failed, the earth was doomed.

**L.A.**

The magickal force was growing tremendous in the old hotel. Lorne had done a spell so that demons could not harm anyone inside, as well as major protection spells around the cellar door, where the spell would take place. The coven members that had come here, they were limbering up their magic, while Angel and Faith were actually, literally limbering up, they were sparing against each other, trying to get in the last little bit of training.

"Showtime! Everybody get into position! Battle stances, everyone! We've prepared a long time for this, and some will not make it, but let's go down fighting, ok!" They heard Buffy's words, someone had done a verbal telephone type spell, so that the spells would start at the same time to give them more power. The spell castors trooped down to the cellar, where they started setting up their circles.

In two separate basements, eight people sat in circles, four people to a circle, each holding a tarot card. As one, two spells rang out as the leaders started chanting, starting the spell that would either save the world or end it.

_**"The power of the Slayer and all who yield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart and spirit joy. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will." **_

_**Spiritus...Spirit. **_

_**Animus...Heart. **_

_**Sophus...Mind. **_

_**And Manus... The hand. **_

**_We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel--the hand...daughter of Sineya...first of the ones... We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now._**

_**"The power of the vampire and all who yield it. Last to ancient first, we invoke thee. Grant us thy domain and primal strength. Accept us in the power we possess. Make us mind and heart and spirit joy. Let the hand encompass us. Do thy will."**_

_**Spiritus...Spirit. **_

_**Animus...Heart. **_

_**Sophus...Mind. **_

_**And Manus... The hand.**_

_**We enjoin that we may inhabit the vessel--the hand...son of the first...first of the ones... We implore thee, admit us, bring us to the vessel, take us now.**_

The spell was cast, and the castors fell into a sort of trance as their protectors looked on. In Sunnydale, Spike and Buffy's eyes glowed orange, and in Los Angeles, Angel's and Faith's did as well. Spike's and Angel's glowed more, for they were wearing their true faces. The sun set in Sunnydale, and everybody ran out, into the battle. It was like hell had broken out onto the Earth, scum everywhere. They fought the ubervamps in Sunnydale, and they fought the former inhabitants of the city of angels in Los Angeles. They came at them, wave upon wave. The good guys were lost in the tide of the bad. When one was dusted, two more sprang into their place.

**L.A.**

Angel and Faith walked side by side, seeing but not seeing the carnage around them. They cut down any who decided to face them, but many got out of their way. They found the Beast with no trouble, and they locked into the battle. They had decided that Angel would face the Beast, Faith would be backup, making sure no one interrupted.

Blow upon blow was thrust out, and blow upon blow was blocked. They were now evenly matched. Angel threw a sidekick, the beast countered with a sweep and a punch to the gut. Angel could feel his inner demon, Angelus screaming, tearing inside him to be let out; Angel gave him an inch, knowing that by denying his demon, the spell would fail. Unbeknownst to him, Willow had explained the side effects of the spell to Faith, and she had come prepared for Angelus, if that was what it took.

Slowly the demon inside took control little by little, and Angel started to lose control. He was fighting two battles, one inside, and one outside. He willed himself to hold strong, though it was taking its toll. The two fights were distracting him, he was missing more blows, and he was being hit harder, faster.

"Angel, LET IT GO!" Faith yelled over the battle sounds. Two witches had come over, and put up a protective barrier, so that no one could get in, no one could get out. Faith willed Angel to give up the inner fight, they could fix him later if it came to that. They had the items to do the spell, if only he would let go.

"NO!" Angel yelled. He wouldn't let go, if he did, it wouldn't happen. The deal wouldn't happen. He became angry, and pushed his inner debate away. He focused solely on the Beast, and nothing else. He started gaining the upper hand, he backed the Beast up against the 'wall' and started beating him unmercily. He grabbed him by the horns, and started kneeing him in the face. One of his horns broke off in his hands. He was startled, and the Beast recovered. He jumped over Angel, and landed behind him. Angel spun, and stabbed the horn into the Beast's stomach. He didn't know how he knew, but he just knew that would end him. The Beast screamed in rage, and started to disintegrate. A light shot from him into the sky, and the gray dust that covered the sky went away, and the moon and stars stared down at them.

"Yes!" Angel cried, then walked to the barrier. "Let us out."

"Let them out." The two witches stopped chanting, and the barrier subsided.

"Let's get this over with," Angel said, his voice was all echoey, like Faith's.

They charged into the middle of the fray, both pulling stakes out. The two witches climbed atop a dumpster, pulling out crossbows and bolts, and started picking off vampires on the edges.

Angel and Faith fought back to back, kicking, punching twirling, staking, in perfect rhythm. They were a good team, they had trained for this, and they fought their way over to Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Wesley, who had been fighting back to back. But they had become swamped, and now Cordelia was being bitten, as well as Fred. Gunn and Wesley, enraged, were surrounded by ten vampires, who were circling them, not letting them get to the girls. Angel staked the vampire feeding off Cordy, while Faith staked the one with Fred. Both girls collapsed, but their rescuers picked them up, and called for a whitelighter. One appeared, and he took the unconscious girls to the hotel, where other whitelighters were trying to heal those brought in. Fleetingly, Angel hoped they had been in time.

**Sunnydale**

The Ubervamps were out in force, majorly. Buffy and Spike, possessed by the spell, were cutting them down two a minute. They were too strong for the vampires. The girls were holding their own pretty well. Five of them had formed into a circle, their backs facing inward, and were shooting crossbows into the oncoming crowd. Their aims were off somewhat, but they were getting the job done. Wood and Xander and Anya were fighting side by side, working on the demons. They were vastly outnumbered, and they needed backup.

Buffy and Spike were fighting as a team, facing the same vampire, double teaming them. Spike ducked a punch, and Buffy rolled over his back to stake the puncher. She then heard Anya's cries for help, and they ran over, staking three vampires on the way. Spike took on a huge demon, while Buffy took on a polgara demon.

Meanwhile, Riley's troops were fighting military style, some had guns that were modified to shoot wood bullets, while others had tasers, and still more had machine guns. They were working the wheel pattern as well, one guy facing a hostile, while another shot him to bits. Riley was doing one on one combat with a vampire, and he was losing badly, until one of his men threw him a gun, which he made quick work of the vampire. Another platoon of men was on the roofs of surrounding buildings, shooting stakes into the crowd.

The three sisters were holding their own very well. They had done a spell that Phoebe had come up with a long time ago, a smart spell, and had absorbed all the information in the Book of Shadows as well as any books Giles had left lying around, letting them know how to vanquish every demon they came across. They had also spent a full day beforehand in their kitchen, cooking up potions that they thought they might need, and they had them in vials, labeled, ready for use. Piper had gotten one of the witches staying with Willow and the rest of them to take care of her son, so he was safely tucked in under a protective barrier, safe from harm. That gave her and Leo the peace of mind to do what they needed to.

Piper froze another few victims, they found the right potion, and they vanquished. On to the next set of demons. Paige was callings stakes to her with her powers, and shooting them out into dead hearts. The battle seemed to stretch on forever.

Buffy caught a glimpse of a figure outside of the battle, watching. It was herself. She didn't know how the First could do that, but she ran over to the Charmed Sisters, they had planned for the First. She pointed them in the right direction, then went back to the fight. She found that she had more control over herself and her doings than she had against Adam. For a second, she relished in the kill, then she moved on. She swore to the Gods, if there really were such things, that if she was to die again, she was gonna take the whole sodding army of vampires and demons with her, well as many as she could. _God, now I'm borrowing Spike's phrases! _she thought. She visibly shrugged. A vampire came up behind her, but her senses were on overload, and she felt him before he was in range to hurt her. She snapped back with a back kick, then spun around with the huge ax she was currently holding, and chopped his head off.

"So, luv, how many is that? Bet I can kill more than you!"

"That's oh, fifty." A vampire tried to sneak up behind her, she swung her ax, connecting with his neck, and two of his buddies. "Ok, make that fifty three."

"Bloody Hell!" Spike cried, in mock agony. "And watch where you're swinging that thing!" He rushed off into the crowd, his vampire face grinning, showing all his teeth.

Buffy spied some of the girls, and heard their screams of agony. She ran to them, killing anybody who got in her way. She saw Spike turn, and sprint in her direction as well. She could only find six of the girls, then she saw others, held in the deadly grips of vampires, their blood being sucked out of their veins. Buffy felt herself harden, and at ten yards she jumped into a flying summersault, unleashing a flying roundhouse kick at the first vampire, hitting him in the back of the head. He dropped the girl in surprise, and Buffy stared into the hazy gaze of Dawn. She felt her fight drain out of her, as she stood there in shock.

Spike ran towards her, but he was too late, she was hit hard by a head butt to the stomach, and Buffy felt all her air leaving her in one quick stream. Spike grabbed the vampire, and with the ax Buffy had dropped, he tore into him, beating him within an inch of his undead life, then staking him with the wooded handle of the ax, which went straight through him.

By this time, Buffy had gotten up, and had summoned a whitelighter. He had Dawn in his arms as he orbed out. Buffy turned to the other vampires, a few holding girls, her girls.

Her blood boiled, her anger reached a fevered pitch, and she started hitting one with everything she had. One by one, as she beat on them, they dropped the girls, and after she found a moment, she checked their pulses, but there wasn't one. She started mentally beating herself up over it, because it was her fault that she froze when she saw Dawn.

A vampire came up behind her, she wasn't paying attention, and he backed her against a wall in the ally where she stood. She was about a mile from the house, where the battle had originally started. She was getting her brains knocked out of her, when Wood came to the rescue, looping a wire around the vampire's neck, and pulling for all he was worth. The vamp finally dusted, and she expressed her thanks.

"Buffy, I know that your blaming yourself for the deaths of those girls back there, but worry about it later. Worrying about it now will just get you killed."

"Thanks," she said again, as they were jumped by five more vampires. Three went after Buffy, two after Wood. They started fighting side by side, and Buffy was reminded of a night earlier this year, when she had found herself in an ally as well, thinking that Wood had set her up. She now thought how wrong she had been. She focused once again on the vampires around her, as she saw more streak into the ally, attracted by the sight of otherwise overwhelming odds. Overwhelming if she wasn't the slayer, if she wasn't under the influence of major magic.

**L.A.**

Angel heard Faith beside him muttering under her breath.

"What!" He yelled over the din.

"I'm just keeping track of how many I've slayed, I challenged B to a contest before we left."

"Oh." He shook his head, wondering why he should be so surprised at that. Buffy was the most unorthodox slayer he had ever met, but Faith was in very close second place. "So, then how many?"

"Twenty…" she staked another vampire "four." He saw the smile on her face, and knew that she loved the kill like he used to, as Angelus. He wondered if she had missed it while in prison, its not like they arrest vampires on a regular basis.

He turned his attention to the vampire in front of him, a girl of about twelve. He felt bad for her, and her family, but he had a duty. He grabbed her by the hair, and threw her against a building. He then rushed up, grabbed her once again, and started slamming her against the building. A child, no older than ten jumped onto his shoulders, and started pummeling him in the head. He snarled, and let go of the girl with one hand, reached behind him, and brought the child off his back. He then smashed their heads together, dropping them in the process, pulled out a stake, and staked each of them in turn. He wondered how Buffy was doing. He looked up at the moon, for a split second, and then turned his attention to another vampire, who was charging him. He sidestepped him easily, and shot out his leg, tripping the vampire, sending him flying against the chain link fence. He smiled at the sound, and then moved in for the stake.

Gun and Wesley were fighting side by side, and they finally had gotten a rhythm down. Gunn stopped wishing for his crew, and Wesley stopped wishing of another watcher, as they trapped a vampire in between them, Wesley holding him, while Gunn punched. After Gunn got tired of this, it was so easy, he whipped out a stake, and staked the vampire. Wesley, now holding thin air and dust, wiped dust off his shirt.

"One down, another fifty or more to go," Gunn said, smiling, he relished this action after so much talk.

Cordelia and Fred were trying to get back out into the fray, they had been healed, and though they felt weak, they were pissed off, and wanted revenge.

"Just let us go!" Cordelia cried, enraged.

"No, drink this! This will help you." A witch came up to them, handing them each a cup of some foul smelling brew.

"You expect me to drink this? Well, lady, you've got another thing coming!" Cordelia fumed. Lorne came over and grabbed her, pinning her to him, while the witch poured the brew down her throat. She coughed and sputtered as Lorne set her down onto the couch.

"Now, do we have to force you?" The witch asked Fred. She willingly drank the contents of the cup in one gulp.

"Sorry, Cordelia, but they need you out there, and I was told not to let you out of here, until you drank that. Angelcake's orders."

"What's it do?" Cordelia asked, after she caught her breath.

"Taints your blood for awhile. Vampires won't want a taste of you, now. Sort of a repellant."

"What's in it?" Fred asked, intrigued.

"Lots of stuff, including garlic, though the myths aren't totally true, you eat enough garlic, you start smelling, and vampires won't come near you," The witch explained.

"Now can we go?" Cordelia asked, mad at the world, mostly at the witch, and Lorne for forcing her to drink it.

"Give it ten minutes to work, then you can."

"Ten minutes!"

"Yes, or I can knock you out, and you can stay right here."

"Fine," Cordelia huffed, not used to not getting her own way.

Connor was having a blast. Vampires kept coming at him from all sides, but they weren't a match for him. He was too fast, too strong, and too smart.

"How come I get all the stupid vampires?" he asked one vampire, after his buddy walked right into Connor's stake, with just a little help.

"You'll pay for that! Brat!"

"I've been called worse," Connor said, taking the offensive, feinting left, going right, throwing a front kick, turning it over at the last minute into a round house kick. Spun ax kick, bringing his heel down on the vampire's skull. The vampire went down, and Connor dropped to one knee, driving the stake through his backbone, into his heart. He dusted almost immediately.

"Just another day in paradise!" Connor smiled.

**Sunnydale**

**Summer's house Cellar**

Giles and Willow and Xander stared straight ahead, not blinking, not moving a muscle. Occasionally one would talk, yet they seemed to be talking to thin air. At first the witches were confused, and scared. They had never done such a powerful spell, but after awhile, it became monotonous, and they started chatting about their methods among themselves. The other group of three weren't saying anything, they were just as still as Giles, Willow and Xander, yet they were completely silent. They had been warned that the spells might work differently for every group, so they had no clue what to expect.

Occasionally, Piper's baby, Wyatt, would squeak, and the one tending him would feed him, or change him, or rock him back to sleep. He was barely a bother, and they switched off taking care of him.

"Dawnie!" Willow, Giles and Xander suddenly called, and they became rigid, then they started gasping for breath, doubling over. A few of the watchers started to rush over, but they got pushed away by something, they weren't sure. They tried again, and they hit a barrier, and flew halfway across the room. They looked at one another, uneasy.

Their breathing eased after awhile, and they straightened up, as straight as they'd been before. The watchers shrugged their shoulders, and went to make sure the protections spells were still working, and to replace older ones.

**Outside**

**Friday morning**

Spike started to sense the coming of the dawn, and he told Buffy. She then redoubled her efforts, she didn't want this going on for very much longer. If they had to stop for daytime, she didn't know what would happen.

Spike went to the other groups, telling them that sunrise would be in about 4 or 5 hours, and to kill as many as possible. Everybody started fighting harder, faster, and they lost some accuracy because of it, but they trudged on.

They had weakened the number of the army considerably. Before there had been about a thousand, but after fighting all night long, they had diminished to only one hundred left. The good guys were still outnumbered, but they were gaining quickly, and everyone was tiring, except for Buffy and Spike. The spell seemed to give them infinite strength. They toiled on, leaving the vampires to others, and going for the demons, who would not disappear once the sun came up.

They whittled the numbers to 50 vampires, and 150 demons, before some started to disappear. The vampires were crawling down manholes, into the sewers, or running away from battle. The sun would be coming up soon.

Piper called for Leo, telling him to have the Elders do something, or they would so that they could finish once and for all, no waiting for darkness to fall. But before he had orbed out, huge thunderclouds flew overhead, blocking out the sky completely. The rain started coming in torrents, and the vampires returned.

**L.A.**

The sun was peeking over the horizon, and there were only a dozen vampires left in town. Faith vowed to get them all, but Angel pulled her back, he felt they were needed in Sunnydale.

"But the spell might not hold up!" Faith yelled at him.

"If it was meant to be, then it will hold up, trust me. Gather the others, we're all going to Sunnydale."

"What about sunrise, if it's rising here, it's rising there."

"No, it's not, I don't know how I know that, but I do, it's safe to go to Sunnydale." So they gathered everyone they could, all the slayers-to-be sent to L.A. were dead, except for Kennedy, who was in deep trouble. The Whitelighters couldn't heal her, for some reason, the Elder's wouldn't let them.

The whitelighters ferried them to Sunnydale, and one brought the wounded to the Sunnydale house, at Angel's orders. Gunn and Wesley stayed behind to take care of loose ends, and to find all of their missing. Cordelia, after getting hurt again, was sedated, and left at the hotel, with Lorne looking after her. They couldn't find Connor anywhere.

**Sunnydale**

"The cavalry has arrived!" Faith yelled, once she was set free from the whitelighters. She pulled out her old knife Mayor Wilkins had given her, Buffy had after some hesitance returned it to her, a strange good luck token. She had also apologized, as well as let her borrow Mr. Pointy, after having her swear to put him to good use. She decided that once she found Buffy, she would return Mr. Pointy.

Angel looked out upon the scene in front of him, demon and human corpses littered Buffy's front yard, and the street in either direction. He followed the sounds of the battle, staking the odd vamp who was just finishing a kill. He kept turning over blonde corpses, hoping against hope that it wasn't Buffy. He didn't find her. There were more dead males than girls, so he figured that this had been Riley's territory. And it looked like he lost. There was nobody around.

He walked down the street, his duster billowing out behind him, with Faith by his side, and the others following them. He used his senses, and they soon came upon the edges of the battle. The other spread out, helping anyone they could find, staking vampires, and taking on demons.

"Aw, this sucks, we're the cleanup crew!" Faith pouted, then smiled. "I LOVE IT!" she yelled, her head tipped back towards the sky, then she went into fighter mode, taking on a defensive pose, then switching instantly to an offensive one, streaking into the mob. She, after a few minutes, was leaving trails of dust in her wake.

Angel found Spike with a wooden bat, its tip was flaming. He was setting every vampire in his range on fire, and loving it.

"Hey, pyromaniac, save some for me, ok?" he heard Buffy call, and his heart soared. _ She wasn't dead!_ He then dived into the fray, taking his joy out on a couple of vampires. Buffy saw him, and he smiled, she smiled back, then pointed towards the Charmed Sisters, who were surrounded by demons, and they had run out of potions. He nodded, and they rushed over, she doing a flying flip, he a standing summersault into the surrounding demons.

After they had dealt with the twenty or so demons, they split paths, Buffy going for a few demons harassing a few of the girls, Angel for a crew of vampires surrounding Anya. He dispatched them easily.

Angel left him to go fight some other vampires, heading away from battle, down an ally. He snuck up on them, and staked one, before the others turned.

"So, where are you guys off to?" Angel asked. "Sneaking off because you're losing? Nah, never, vampires have more pride than that!"

"Stupid human!" one cried.

"Sorry, wrong, but you do get the consolation prize, going to hell!" Angel said, as he vamped, and jumped on the speaker. He ducked punches, and blocked kicks, and threw out some of his limbs, catching one guy in the stomach, another one in the groin. He was greatly outnumbered, about 15 to one, then he staked the one who'd talked, 14.

"This is just sad, There were 16 of you, and only one of me, and I'm still gonna win!" Angel said, still in euphoria that Buffy had managed to survive. She was still alive, he still had everything in the world to fight for, and for once, he'd do it with a song in his heart.

"You're a traitor to your kind!"

"But not to my heart." They fought a little longer, but the Angel began to get bored. He staked a couple more.

"Is this all you got? Come on, I get a better workout fighting little human girls," he taunted. Two vampires were coming at him, one from each side. He felt the bonds loosen around his arms, and two stakes fell into his hands, he shoved them into the two, smiling at the surprised looks on their faces. The others ran away, but Tthey were shot down with crossbows before they reached the end of the ally. He turned to see Anya, and Wood with crossbows in their hands.

"Nice shots," he called. They nodded, then ran back into the fight.

"Your part in this has been fulfilled. Now we shall fulfill ours," a voice stated. Angel wasn't sure where it came from, it seemed to come from everywhere at once. There was a flash of lightning, then he could feel himself changing.

Once he felt the changes stop, he looked down at himself, in awe. Just then, he was hit in the head from behind by a vampire. He felt himself falling, and the world went black.

Buffy looked around her, and she saw that there were very few demons or vampires left, lots of dust, and lots of corpses, but not too many standing. She saw none of the girls still standing. She saw Spike, and Faith, and Anya, Wood, and some she didn't know from L.A. She saw the Charmed Ones, and the blue lights of Whitelighters orbing in and out. She looked for Angel, she knew he was here, but she didn't see him. A vampire rushed her.

"I'm in no mood," she stated, staking him. She went in search of Angel.

She found him on the ground, in an ally, with a vampire standing over him. She staked the vampire, and called a whitelighter for Angel. One came, and she told him to put him in her room. Then he was gone. She then let the power of the spell go, and lucky she was on the ground, because she fainted.

In the basement, Willow, Xander and Giles all slumped over, and when the witches rushed over, more cautious this time, nothing stopped them. They woke up momentarily, bubbling with energy. They watched the other three witches slump over, and knew the spell was over, the battle was over, and they had won. They guessed that the same thing had happened in L.A.


	13. Chapter 13 Concerns

**Sunday Morning**

"Giles, why won't he wake up? Why won't he heal? Vampires heal, sometimes faster than the slayer!" Buffy asked, wanting to know what was wrong. She had already healed almost completely from the battle.

"I'm not sure if he will heal this time, Buffy. Come here, stop pacing!" Giles called her over. He had his pointer and middle fingers pressed against Angel's neck.

"Giles, why is your hand there, vampires don't have pulses, you can't check them like you can humans!" she said, sitting in the chair she had vacated just a few moments before, beside the bed where Angel lay. She absently picked up one of his hands, and held it in her two in her lap. If she had been paying attention, and not so anxious, she would have noticed that his hand was very warm for a vampires. Warmer than the room temperature.

The house still smelled of death and injury. There were now only five girls out of the twenty left, and they were pretty bad off. Some, with a lot of luck would make it, as far as Buffy knew. She hadn't seen them since the battle, she was so occupied by Angel's condition. One of them would have to make it, at least. It would have to be fate. _Unless the First pulled it off. That would be rather funny, if the First succeeded and it wasn't around to find out!_

"Buffy, I think you should go get some sleep. Everyone else is. It's midnight, and you haven't slept at all since the spell. I promise I'll wake you up if anything changes," he promised his slayer, his charge, his daughter. _Well, that's how I feel about her, anyway./_

"No, seriously, I'm fine. You go and sleep. You've gotten as much sleep as I have. Go. I'll be fine. I am fine."

"Buffy…"

"I'm fine! Just go!" Buffy insisted.

"You've definitely worked on your leadership skills, and that problem of not being forceful and commanding. I'm very proud of you for that. But you have a very terrible lying streak, you always have. I've asked you to work on that, and I'm very disappointed in you that you haven't. You also have contracted, maybe from all the teenagers around, a problem of not listening. If you would just listen to what I'm trying to tell you…"

"Giles, I can't take anymore. No more death, no more destruction, no more information. My brain, my heart is lost in grief, and they just can't take anything more in. I'm sorry, but they can't."

"Very well, then. If you need me, I shall be downstairs on the couch. Goodnight, Buffy."

"Night." He squeezed her shoulder, then left, gently closing the door behind him. But the latch didn't catch, and the door swung open just a tad.

"Oh, Angel! Please come back to me! I love you." She started crying into his chest, crying for the girls' lives, for the loss of their, as well as her own, innocence, but mostly for Angel. She gently kissed his lips, his hand, still incased in hers, then his cheeks, crying all the while.

Riley came to the door, he was about to knock, to pour his soul out to her, and ask for her back, but he heard her sobbing, and her choked words, and stopped to listen.

"Please, Angel, my love, my true love! Wake up. Come back to me! I need you! Don't force me to kill you again! I couldn't do it! I've been thinking, after seeing you again after all these years, after Riley, and Spike, I still miss you, love you, need you! I thought that I was over you, but deep down in my heart, I'm not! Being with Riley was, amazing! It was eye opening to what a real relationship could be! And Spike, he gave me the physical stuff I craved! I didn't just crave it, but I needed it, I think! But I've realized now that that's not what I truly need, that's not what keeps love going strong, I need to be loved, completely, no holding back, and I need to love in that same way in return! I thought I had that with Riley, but some part of me, deep down, still was holding back, waiting for something, someone, you! Some part of me was loving you, all this time, every second of every day! I need you!"

Riley stifled a gasp of shock, and slowly backed away. He went to pack his stuff, to go back where he belonged. He knew he didn't belong here.

"Please wake up, please come back to me! I need you! I love you!" and in this manner, crying, sniffling, she poured out her heart to the prone figure beside her. After awhile, she got the hiccups, from crying so hard. She had to calm down, and breathe, she knew, but she couldn't. She just concentrated on breathing, not on the pain, nothing but the breathing.

"B…uffy?"

"Angel! I'm here! I'll never leave you!"

"Buffy…" he croaked. He began to cough, and she helped him sit up, to help him breathe better, patted his back.

"Is it over?" he asked, his voice a mere whisper. He, being a vampire for so long, forgot to breathe, and started choking, gasping for breath.

"What wrong with you? It's been two days! You should have healed by now!" She helped him lay back down.

"Buffy, give me your hand." He pulled her hand towards his chest, and placed it over his heart. "I don't think that I will be healing for awhile." She gasped at what she felt, and grabbed her hand away. She put it to her mouth, shaking her head, in denial.

"But… How!…How can it… be!" She choked out.

"I made a deal with the Powers That Be. If I stopped the world from going to hell once again, this time, I'd be forgiven of my sins.

"So… wait! You're… You're…no, it can't be!" She burst into tears once more, tears of joy, and surprise, and delight.

He stroked her face tenderly. "I'll be alright in no time."

"Wait, do you have… like all your memories?"

"Yes, but they don't bother me anymore. Eventually, they'll fade into the background, if I let them. I can live a normal life if I choose."

"Oh…" she said, deflating. "You want a normal life."

"As normal as I can get, with everything I remember." He smiled up at her. He showed no indication of hearing what she had told him while he was asleep. He strained to sit up, and kiss her, but she didn't see, she had turned, and stood up to leave.

"Now that I know you're alright, I should really go check on everybody else, see how they're faring. We won, or else we wouldn't be here, but we lost most of the girls. Only five, including Dawn are left."

"Buffy, have you slept at all since the battle ended? Please, don't push yourself too hard, you have a tendency to do so. I worry about you, I always have, and I think I always will." He tried to smile, but everything hurt, every muscle in his body, many dormant for so long, now having to work was a strain.

"Don't worry about me. I'm the slayer, I'll deal." She left the room, trying with all her might not to cry. She shut his door, and then ran to the bathroom, closing it behind her, and sank to the floor, letting her tears flow at last. _He wants a normal life. Something I'll never have, something that I had to give up to follow my destiny!_ she thought miserably.

Willow was sitting on the windowsill in her room, and she was in shock. First, Oz had left her, then Tara was murdered, and now Kennedy wasn't waking up. She hadn't had much luck in the love department. Kennedy had died just an hour ago. Spike, the only one who was completely fine, had come for her body, but Willow wouldn't let her go, she insisted that she was still alive, that she was coming back to her. She, using magic, made Spike fly out of the room, and she slammed the door on him. _She's still alive, she has to be!_

Dawn was in her room, with the other 3 girls. They were now pretty much out of harms way, now. They were still weak, mostly from loss of blood, a few scrapes and bruises, but for the most part, Leo and Paige had healed them the best they could. They were drained of their powers, all four of them, and they looked worse for wear. They apologized for the lack of total healing, but the Elders wouldn't allow it, they explained. They tried to heal Kennedy, but Dawn wasn't sure if it had worked. Yet they were still confined to Dawn's room, and to bed, they had to get their strength back. Dawn was thinking how strange Buffy had been acting, she wouldn't let either of the two healers near her or Angel, and Faith refused to be healed. Buffy hadn't left Angel's side since the end of the battle. She had ignored everybody else, except Angel. The girls were in deep conversation, about of all things, which was better, stake, or cross bow! So, she slipped out of bed, and crossed the hall to the bathroom. She had seen Buffy go in a few minutes before, and she looked awful.

"Buffy, are you alright?" she asked softly, trying to open the door. It opened a bit, but then was stuck. She pushed harder, and she could hear the sobbing.

"Dawn! Stop it!" She heard in a weak voice.

"What's wrong? Please, tell me?" A year ago, she wouldn't have asked, but then had been through a lot, and she knew she had her sister's respect.

"I'm fine! Go way!"

"You don't sound fine! I've been your sister for a long time, and I know when you're not fine! And you aren't! Now, let me in, please!"

"Fine!" Buffy crawled on her hands and knees, away from the door, so Dawn could come in. She sat down next to her older sister, leaned against the tub, trying to make herself comfortable.

"What's wrong, Buffy? And don't lie, I've known you long enough to know when you're lying to me. You get all shifty, and you keep looking around, never really focusing."

"It's a long story, and it's complicated. I don't want to bother you."

"You're my sister! You've always been a bother, so why stop now!" Dawn cried.

"You've got a point, squirt." Dawn thought she saw a slight smile. She settled down to hear her sister's tale.

_I now understood why she looks awful! _she thought after Buffy had finished her tale. She was crying again, and Dawn let her cry into her shoulder. For awhile, sitting there in the bathroom, Dawn took on the role of the older sister, telling Buffy that things would be okay, and she's be fine, and everything would work out. She didn't know for sure, but that's what Buffy always told her, and they made her feel better, but it didn't seem to help Buffy at all, it just made her cry harder. So they lapsed into silence after awhile, only broken by Buffy's sobs. _She hasn't cried this much since Angel broke up with her before prom!_ Dawn thought, feeling bad for her sister. Then, Buffy hadn't told her about what was wrong, or when she ran away, but now, things were different, they weren't just sisters anymore, they were friends. They had a new understanding, Dawn wasn't sure when it had changed, but it had, slowly, surely, time had changed them from enemies, to friends.

By the time they emerged, Buffy felt that she couldn't cry anymore. Dawn hugged her tight, then led her into her room, glared at the girls, shushing them, and made Buffy lay down on her bed. Before Buffy's head hit Dawn's pillow, she was asleep, the fighting, worrying, and now the crying had worn her out, and she couldn't stay awake another minute. Dawn told the girls, not too nicely, that if they woke her sister, she would beat them up; she didn't care how fast they could run, or how strong they were.

She left quietly, even though she was sure nothing would wake Buffy now, and tiptoed to Willow's room. She knocked, then entered. What she saw troubled her. Kennedy was on the bed, not moving, with a ton of blankets piled on top of her, and Willow was staring aimlessly out the window, she thought she saw the glint of tears in the moonlight.

"Willow, are you alright?" she asked quietly. Willow jumped a mile, and turned quickly, too quickly, and almost fell out the window. Dawn rushed up and grabbed her before she fell. She led her to the floor, where they sat, backs against the wall. _Deja vu,_ Dawn thought.

"What's wrong, Will?"

"Kennedy… she's not responding! I can't get her to wake up, and… she's so cold, Dawnie, she's so cold! I kept putting more and more blankets on her, but she wouldn't warm up! What's wrong with her? Dawnie, can you help me? The blankets keep slipping! They won't stay on, and she'll freeze! She can't freeze, Dawnie, she can't!" Willow's words went into Dawn's heart and froze her. She got up, and went to the bed, and when she tried to find a pulse, she couldn't. She pulled all the blankets but one off the body, and pulled the remaining one over the face.

Willow was on her in a second, trying to get the blankets back on, fighting Dawn for all she was worth.

"It won't help her now, Willow, she's gone to a better place!" Dawn said, her voice cracking. She grabbed Willow around her waist, trying with all her might to hold her still, pinning her arms to her sides. Suddenly the fight went out of her, and Dawn was suddenly burdened with all of the older girl's weight. They sank to the floor, Dawn rocking Willow as a mother would a child, as the witch cried her eyes out.

"NO! NO! NO! It can't be! She can't leave me! She's the only one I have left! She can't leave me Dawnie! She can't!" Willow cried in anguish. Dawn tried to soothe her the best she could. She also tried to drag her out of the room, but Willow wouldn't have any of it. She clung to the bedspread as if her life depended on not letting go. _Maybe it does,_ Dawn thought. _She's lost so many people in her life. Maybe she just doesn't have anything else to live for._

They were still there in the morning, when the first rays of the sun came through the window. Willow had fallen asleep some time during the night, but every time Dawn tried to leave, she whimpered pathetically, and held on tighter. She finally was able to pull herself out of the witch's embrace, without waking her, and went to check on the Charmed Ones. She knocked on the door, and entered when she heard their welcome.

"How are you guys?" she asked. She knew that Buffy should be asking, but she knew her sister wasn't able, so she felt the job fell on her shoulders. Though she felt rebellious about the responsibility, she also reveled a bit in it, knowing that by default she was trusted to get things done, to keep things running smoothly.

"Tired. We haven't used that much magic, ever! And I don't think we ever will again! That was some huge battle!" Paige exclaimed.

"Yeah. You guys were awesome! We would have never won, if it weren't for you guys," Dawn commented.

"We feel so bad, about all the dead girls! We should have saved them, that's our job! To save the innocents!" Piper, the worrier, said sadly.

"They knew some would die, they knew it from the start. Don't blame it on yourselves! They were willing to die, for this world. We didn't force them to fight, well, we did at first, but once they saw all those ubervampires, they went into battle willingly. You did your best, and that's all you can do," Dawn said, wondering momentarily where this was coming from, the nurturing, calming everyone's fears person she seemed to have become.

"No, it's not. If we had just tried just a little bit harder, there might have been one less body today!" Piper said, anguished.

"Piper, don't beat yourself up over it. Dawn, don't worry, she's always like this after we lose an innocent," Phoebe said.

"Well, if there's anything I can get you, then just tell me. You're welcome to stay, but I'm pretty sure that we're done, so you don't have to stay. And I'm not trying to make you leave…I'm no good at this!" Dawn cried. "Buffy's always the take charge sister, I'm the rebel quietly, but mostly go along with it type. I'm sorry. It's just Buffy and Willow are sleeping, their having a rough time right now, and I don't know where Giles or Anya or Xander are! They're older, they're better at this then me!" Dawn said, ashamed at her outburst.

"We understand completely. You're under a lot of stress right now. We'll just stay to make sure everything is back on track, then we'll get out of your hair. We promise," Paige said kindly to the younger girl. She felt bad for her, she was so young to have to deal with everything that was going on. In her opinion, Dawn was too young to know about vampires, and demons, and such. But she also thought that any age was too young to have to deal with that type of stuff.

Dawn smiled appreciative, then went to find Faith, Giles, Xander or Anya. She needed to warn them about Willow's fragile state of sanity, and have Spike take care of Kennedy. As well as let them know Buffy wasn't feeling well. Wesley, Gunn and Fred had left for L.A. to pick up the pieces there, but they were coming back soon. Dawn knew that she should also make people eat something, that's what Buffy would do, always taking care of others, and never herself. Always protecting people from the worst of everything. _Well, now it's MY turn to take care of her, to protect her! _ Dawn thought with some thrill, but also fear. She had never had that much power, that much responsibility before. Buffy had, with her slayer job, but not poor 'little baby' Dawn! Well, she'd show them that she was mature.

At sunset, that day, she called a meeting. She was terrified, but she knew that it had to be done. Everybody but Willow, Buffy, and Angel came. She was glad that Willow wasn't there to see her mess up, but there were still plenty of people who were.

"Ok, I just wanted to tell you that I think that both Buffy and Willow have cracked. Willow's torn about losing Kennedy, I think that she's blaming herself, as well as remembering her grief over Tara and when Oz left. She's in bad shape. Buffy, she's not too well herself. She's worried herself sick, and whether or not that she wants to admit it, she blames herself for the deaths of everybody, and something's majority wigged her out, but I can't tell you, it's sister stuff. I just want you to be, well, aware of what's going on. Don't push them too hard, and just let them get some sleep. They haven't slept in awhile," She finished. She was very proud of herself.

"So you don't know what's wrong with Buffy, or you won't tell us?" Anya asked.

"Anya," Xander warned her.

"I know, but I can't tell you, except that I think that it's just been too much too fast for her. She's seriously wigged, she cried in the bathroom for a long time, like hours!"

"Hey, where's Riley?" Anya asked. Everybody looked around, and noticed he wasn't among them.

"He came out alright, right? He wasn't seriously injured, was he?"

"Maybe he split. He probably has bad memories form here, maybe he wanted to get away from them."

"Well, good riddance, ya big chicken!" Anya said.

"Anya, that's enough out of you," Giles reprimanded.

"Stop, all of you! I know that Buffy's normally the leader gal, but please, she's not well right now, she's tired and she needs you to shut your traps, and let her sleep!" Dawn told everybody.

"Yeah, Dawn!" Anya cheered her on.

"Anya, didn't you just hear what I said? Buffy is in mental pain, and she just want's to forget about it! So shut up!" Dawn screamed. The fight may have been too much for her, and maybe she was just tired of not being listened to. "If you can't be quiet, please, leave! She's my sister, and it hurts me to see her this way, and you're not helping any!"

"Fine," Anya said, rather sulkily.

"I'm going to need help. Buffy and Willow are pretty much unhurt, except for their souls, but Angel is very weak. He's gonna have to eat to stay strong. Giles, will you help me with him?"

"Yes, certainly."

"Spike, could you dig graves for the girls? I don't know what else to do with them. Buffy would know, but we can't wait for her to figure out what's got her in a tiff and snap out of it."

"Sure, pet."

"Well, that's I al wanted to say, thanks for letting me say it. Buffy, once she figures out her problems, she'll want to talk to you about the fight, go over it point-by-point, good and bad, you know how she is. I don't know enough to do so, so I'm just gonna say thanks. I hope that's enough for you, because, being new at this, I don't know what to say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see how my sister's feeling after a nice long nap."

"Um, Dawn, could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure Giles," They headed for the stairs together.

"I suspect that Buffy's torn over Angel, right?"

"Yeah. What do you know about it?"

"Only that he's human."

"I thought you might. I don't want the others knowing, let Angel tell them, or Buffy. I can't tell you the whole details, but Angel told Buffy he wanted a normal life."

"And Buffy can't have a normal life. God, poor her. Does he know?"

"Not yet, I wasn't sure if I should tell him, or not. I think Buffy should, but he will start to wonder if she doesn't come around."

"Yes. Well, let's make a plan, to fix this. Buffy deserves a break after all she's been through," Giles concocted. They swapped ideas, and finally came up with something.


	14. Chapter 14 Promises

Angel heard the door slowly swing open.

"Buffy?"

"No, it's me, Dawn. I wanted to talk to you. You and Buffy have had a misunderstanding, well, she has, at least, and you need to fix it," Dawn said forcefully. She had always been afraid of Angel, but she was no longer, he wasn't a vampire, she felt safe.

"What did I do?" he asked concerned.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but…" She told him everything that happened earlier, and she watched his face fall, and he looked more and more pained with everything she told him.

"I had no clue! I'm so sorry! Would you tell her that I'm sorry I caused so much pain, god! I swore that once I became human, I wouldn't hurt her anymore, and I've already failed!"

"No, you have to tell her, she won't trust me. She'll be furious that I told you what I just did."

"Then can you get her in here? So I can tell her?"

"I'll try."

"Thanks, Dawnie, you're a good sister." He patted her hand, and she didn't pull away.

"Not as good as she is to me. And Angel, if you hurt her, I will hurt you just as you've hurt her, if she feels as if her heart's being ripped to pieces, I will literally rip yours to pieces." With that, Dawn left, to see how Buffy was doing.

She found Buffy exactly where she had left her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep. She was so peaceful when she slept. Except when she was plagued with dreams. Dawn left her sister, knowing she was alright, to go and find Willow. She was also right where Dawn had left her, curled up in a ball, in the middle of the floor. Dawn called Spike, who picked up Willow, and placed her on the bed.

"Dawn, I just wanted to congratulate you on what you said. It wasn't at all what Buffy would have done, but you're not her, and I thought that it was the right thing to do. And I hope that if there's anything I can do to help you out, then just tell me."

"I'll keep that in mind, ok? Thanks for helping with Willow, she's really crushed. And Buffy's off her rocker. It was just a little misunderstanding, but with everything going on, she jumped to conclusions."

"And what would that be?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you, Buffy would kill me. I think that she holds herself responsible for everything that happened, all the deaths, all the girls gone. Let's just hope she gets over it."

"She will, she's a fighter. The best damn slayer I've ever met. Every time I tried to kill her, She kicked my ass, and sent me packing. And I've killed two slayers before, bit. She's the toughest I've come across. Don't worry too much, she'll be fine."

"If you say so. Spike, thanks."

"You're welcome, bit. Stay strong, it will all come out alright in the end. You can count on it."

"Spike, we're at the end. We defeated the First Evil, so what else are we to go against, everything else would be a bore, overkill."

"You're right, but life has a way of surprising you. Just wait and see, bit." With that, Spike left Dawn alone with Willow. Dawn sighed, and left too. She was tired, so she grabbed a sleeping bag, and lay on her floor, and was asleep within minutes.

**L.A.**

"I wonder how Angel's doing. It's been two days, and we haven't heard anything. Nothing at all." Fred said, pacing around the front lobby.

"It's ok, he'll be alright. He's the champion, he's needed."

"But he's just a vampire! Even if the world depends on him, he stopped the end of the world, what if he's no longer needed?"

"There's always someone trying to end the world. He'll always be needed, until someday, when he doesn't succeed."

"Lorne! Don't say that!"

"But it's true, sugar, someday he won't be able to win."

"It's still horrible!" Fred cried.

"I know."

"Let's just hope…" Cordelia started, but then she felt the rush that meant a vision was coming on. There was a flash of light, then she saw Angel, in Buffy's room, lying in her bed, and the windows were open, she could feel the cool morning air. The room was so bright, and there was sunlight on his face, he was smiling. He wasn't burning! Then, just as fast as it had come on, the vision disappeared.

"Wow, that was intense! Guys, I don't know what's wrong with him, but I don't think Angel's coming back to us."

"Vision?"

"Yeah... And he was covered in sunlight, and he was basking in it. Almost like he wasn't a vampire."

"Strange!"

"Yeah."

**Sunnydale**

**Monday Morning**

Buffy woke up to the sun peaking in through the window, at the foot of the bed. She stretched leisurely, keeping her eyes closed as long as she could.

_Wait!_ Her eyes flew open, and sat straight up with a start. _Where am I? My windows are to the side of my bed, not at the foot. _/She looked around, and calmed down once she remembered she'd fallen asleep in Dawn's room.

She stumbled out of bed, and headed towards the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, and was surprised to see her eyes all red and swollen. _Like I've been crying, _she thought, then everything came flooding back, the battle, all the girls' dead bodies, Angel. She felt like crying again, but she knew she had put off her responsibilities for too long. She tiptoed into her room, went to the closet, grabbed the first thing she saw, and hurried out. Angel was asleep, he didn't hear her. She went into the bathroom, and took a long, hot shower. It felt so good, her muscles had tightened up, after being used for so long, then finally getting some rest. The water massaged them, and she loved the feel.

Once she dried off, she dressed in what she had grabbed, a black tank, and her red leather pants. She was glad that most of her clothes matched, she didn't want to have to go in there again. She blow dried her hair, and put it up in a ponytail. Her eyes still looked puffy, so she put on some concealer, to hide it. Once she was satisfied with her look, she headed downstairs.

She found Spike rummaging in the fridge, no doubt looking for the blood she had gotten before the battle. She went to the coffee machine, and turned it on. She then turned to look at the sink. It was piled high with dishes. She sighed, then started to do the dishes. She heard Spike rummaging in the cabinet, looking for a mug. She quickly washed one, then handed it to him.

"Thank's luv. So, what's wrong with you? Dawn said you were stressed, but I saw right through that excuse. You've been crying," he said, concerned.

"It's nothing."

"Come on, luv, I know you better than that! Whenever you say it's nothing, or your fine, your really pleading for someone to pry you open, and spill your guts."

"Ok, if you say so, but seriously I'm fine!" she said, surprised, because he had hit the nail on the head.

"Bloody hell your fine! Didn't I just tell you I know you too well for that to work on me? Come on, tell."

"Fine, I found out yesterday, after Angel woke up that, well… He found a prophecy. If he stopped the apocalypse, then he would be redeemed for his efforts, his sins would be forgiven…"

"What are you trying to tell me, Luv?"

"He's… he's human, Spike. He's human!"

"Bloody Hell! He's human! But then why aren't you happy? I've seen the way you look at him, luv, I know the looks you were givin' him, you should be happy."

"Spike, he told me he wants a normal life!"

"So, who wouldn't?"

"I want a normal life, but I don't! Don't you see! He can't have a normal life with me, because I have a freak life! I have a witch for a best friend, I have a vampire living in my basement, and my best friend's sorta dating an ex-demon! My sister is a key to a door that unlocks hell on Earth! I don't have a normal life, and I never will!"

"Is that what your worried about, pet? Just as you've been giving him looks, he's been giving you looks. I see the adoration in his eyes, and the yearning. He yearns for you! He wants you with all of his being! You don't have to worry about him not loving you! He can't stop!" Spike cried. _Neither can I. _He thought bitterly.

"Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Of course I'm sure! He feel's for you just as I do, and so does Soldier Boy. You're lucky, luv, you have three men to choose from. But I'm the unlucky one, because I know your choice," He said, taking his blood out of the microwave. He sipped some carefully, yet still managing to burn his tongue. "Do you think I would be telling you this if I didn't think I had the slightest chance of winning you? If I thought I had a chance, I would be telling you whatever I thought you needed to hear to get you back in my arms, that the bloody poof had…shagged Cordelia, or that Fred chick. But I'm not, because it's not true, because he hasn't looked at another girl since he laid eyes on you," he said, glaring at her, before turning his gaze away, "Your sister's been worried about you, pet. She tried not to let it show, but she was torn, seeing you like that yesterday. She called a meeting, told us that she didn't want you to be disturbed, and I heard her telling the girls that if they woke you up, she would bloody well beat the crap out of them, no matter how fast they could run, or how strong they were. But enough of my yammering, Willow needs you. Kennedy died yesterday. She had lost too much blood, and Willow couldn't get the blood to stop. She used her sodding magick on me when I tried to get Kennedy's body! She wouldn't let me in the bloody room!"

"Oh! God! First Tara, now Kennedy! She must be hurting something awful!" Buffy said, putting her hands to her face, then realizing they were soapy, and wet.

"I'll finish up here, luv, go help Willow. She needs your support."

"Thanks, Spike." Buffy hugged him, then left for Willow's room. When she got there, she knocked softly, then let herself in. Willow was sitting by the window.

"Will? Are you alright? I heard what happened."

"Buffy, why do I have such problems with my love life? Why does everybody that I love die? Or leave? Remember when Xander was joking about going gay, well, I've been both straight and lesbian, and it hasn't helped me at all!"

"Sweetie, you just need to be patient. I haven't had the best luck either. At least you like people who are human!"

"Yeah, but still! Your boyfriend's were already dead, so they couldn't leave you when they died. And Oz wasn't human, well, most of the time he was. It's just not fair!"

"Do you know how many times I've said that! With all the trouble I've had! Willow, how is my being the slayer fair? How is my losing my mom fair? How is my dying twice fair? How is my sister not being my sister fair? Things happen that aren't fair, and we've all had our fair share of things that just aren't right! Kennedy knew that she would die eventually, and die sooner than later. All slayers have to understand that, and she knew that not everybody would live to see the end. She was lucky, she saw the end of the battle, and she was there until the very end! She did what she was put here to do, and, it might sound harsh, but she did what she had to, and now she's off to a better place. She's happy, now, Willow, and you might hurt, and you might feel like there's nothing worth living for, but Kennedy gave her life, and so did all the others, so that you could live, so that the world could go on, to see tomorrow. Don't let her sacrifice be in vain, don't you dare do something stupid, Willow, you hear me? We'll get through this together. I promise you that. There's going to be good times, and bad."

"But I didn't even fight, Buffy, she fought, and she died, and I didn't do anything to stop her!"

"Willow, you saw what I saw! Two girls were killed, because I froze, their deaths are on my soul, just because I froze when I saw Dawn lying there. All of the memories that aren't mine went flashing through my head, and I just froze, and now it's my fault that they're dead, Will, I killed them! Because I didn't do anything to stop those two vampires, they're dead, and so are most of the others! Only Amanda, Dawn, and two others are alive. And I can't remember their names right now, because my memory sucks, but I keep thinking that if I had tried just a bit harder, if I had been just a bit faster, some of them might still be alive. But that kind of thinking will kill you, Willow, I've come to realize that. I have to grieve, but not blame, because I'll wear myself out, and I'll feel bad about myself, and that's not what they would have wanted. Kennedy looked up to you, she loved you, and she wouldn't want you to hurt, she'd want you to be happy."

"How am I to do that, if everybody I care for dies?"

"You'll just have to get over it, if that's all you think about, then you'll curse yourself, your sub-conscience has it in for you, and you can't let it. You have to rise above it all! With everything I've been through, that's what I've learned. You have to trust yourself. Just do what you do, and be happy for yourself."

"I know Buffy, but it's so hard, picking up the pieces!"

"Well, if you'll let me, I'll help you pick up the pieces, and Xander will help, and Dawn, and Giles, and maybe Spike, or the Charmed Sisters, or Angel, they all might want to help! But they can't until you let them. Will you?"

"Yes, I will."

"Good. Now, why don't you go downstairs? I have something I have to take care of, well, two things, but I find you once I'm done, ok?"

"Yeah."

"Ok." With that, Both of them left the room, Buffy searching for Dawn, and Willow headed to the kitchen. Buffy found Dawn in her room. She was, well, Buffy wasn't sure what she was doing. She knocked, and Dawn looked up guiltily.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing, just lighting a candle, for each of the girls that died. Paige gave me the idea, and I'm trying to think up prayers to say for them. I'm trying to say thank you."

"That's sweet, Dawn. Come over here." Buffy sat on Dawn's bed. Dawn came over and sat beside her. "Dawn, thank you for letting me cry yesterday. It helped so much, just being able to cry, and spill all my problems. And I've realized that you're not my baby sister anymore."

"Finally someone realizes that!" Dawn said, smiling.

"No, you're not a baby. And I want to say that I'm sorry about all those times I tried to protect you. But that's my job as a sister, to protect you from hardships for as long as possible, and throw the slayer into the mix, well, I was super overprotective. And you really didn't help. The things you did, made me want to protect you more. But Thursday night, seeing you… that was horrible! And it just made me see how hard I'd been on you. How hard I'd made your life, when I was trying to help you, shield you from that type of stuff, and make your life just a little bit easier, but I wasn't. And I'm sorry. I truly am sorry, you can't ever know just how sorry I am."

"Yes, because I feel the same way, about how I've acted since you've become the slayer. It's just, you were so busy, you didn't have time for me, so I acted out, to get your attention. All I wanted was to be loved, like the old days, B.S., before slayer. And I am also sorry." Buffy hugged her.

"You don't know how much this means to me."

"How about you let me breathe?" Dawn asked.

"Sorry, this slayer thing, it isn't the best."

"That's ok."

"Now, if you excuse me, I have to go talk to Angel."

"Are you guys talking? When did that happen?"

"Spike talked some sense into me. I didn't want to listen, but what he said was true. When I say I'm fine, most of the time, I'm asking for help. If only I had realized that sooner. He told me that he couldn't deny the looks that he saw Angel shoot my way, he knew that Angel loved me, because he felt the same way. I realized that I had blown everything out of proportion, and now I have to make it up to Angel. So, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my life back together."

"You go, sis!"

"Angel, can I come in?" Buffy asked after knocking on the door.

"Of course you can, this is your room."

"Oh, yeah. Um, I'm sorry that I didn't come back, but I was freaking."

"It's been a lot to deal with, I understand."

"No, you don't. And I need to explain myself." She pulled up her desk chair to the bed.

"No, you don't have to explain anything."

"Yes, I do, so please, shut up and let me talk, this is hard enough, ok? With out you contradicting me. Yesterday, when you said that you wanted a normal life, well, it cut me deeper than I should have let it. And the reason is, because I shall never have a normal life, and after everything I've been through, I've realized I needed you, I loved you, totally, and completely loved you, and I didn't think I could live without you. So I was heartbroken, because I couldn't give you what you wanted, what you deserved, and I realized what you felt like, because now I knew. But, Spike told me otherwise. He's very observant. He said that he had noticed the looks of longing I had been sending your way, and he told me that if I had been paying more attention, I would have seen the looks you were sending me. And I realized that I had jumped to conclusions, and I now hate myself for it."

"Buffy…"

"No interruptions. I have to say this, Angel, I want you to remember this always, I love you, and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Buffy, I love you too. I've also jumped to conclusions. Willow told me about you and Spike, as well as about Principal Wood. And I found my self incredibly mad, that you would lower yourself to them, because they don't deserve you. But I understand why you did. I have also had feelings for someone else, but they don't compare to you."

"Who?"

"Cordy," Buffy sat back, momentarily wanting to laugh at the ironic words Spike had said just a little bit before, "I don't know how, or why, but I was attracted to her. Maybe, just as you were with Spike. But I've realized my mistakes, and, laying here, newly human, and almost dying, I've found that I need you too. I think that if you hadn't come back, I don't think I would have had the strength to live. And if it wasn't for Dawn."

"What did Dawn do?"

"Don't kill her..."

"What ever gave you the idea I would?"

"She did. She came last night, and told me pretty much what happened in the bathroom, everything you told her."

"Ok, I am going to kill her!"

"Buffy, calm down, she also told me that if I hurt you in any way, if I made you feel if your heart was ripping into little pieces, then she would literally rip mine out, and rip it to bits."

"How sweet. Dawn!" Buffy yelled. They heard a door slam, and feet running down the stairs. "Excuse me, but I have a sister to hunt." Buffy got up to leave.

"Buffy," He grabbed her hand, "Please don't stay away long, I need you."

"I know. I'll be back in just a minute. Promise." She kissed his hand, then laid it at his side. She ran down the stairs.

"Dawn, Where are you!" she called. She walked into the living room. Anya, Spike and Faith were sitting on the couch. She gave them a questioning glance. Spike and Anya shrugged their shoulders, while Faith pointed into the kitchen. Buffy went into the kitchen. There sat Amanda. "Where's Dawn?" Buffy asked.

"I…I'm not supposed to tell you."

"Where is she!" Buffy asked again.

Amanda pointed into the dining room. Buffy followed the way she was pointing, to find Giles in the dining room, but no Dawn.

"Dawn?"

"That way," Giles said, pointing towards the living room. Buffy went two laps around the house, before she turned and went in the opposite direction, running into Dawn as she entered the kitchen. She grabbed her tight.

"Hey let go!"

"I am very mad at you right now!"

"Remember what you said, you were sorry about making my life hard!"

"It's about to get harder! Amanda, would you go into… never mind, we'll go outside." Buffy, holding onto Dawn's arm above the elbow, went out onto the porch, pulling Dawn with her.

"Let go of me!" Dawn cried.

"Why did you tell Angel what I told you, in sister secrecy?"

"Because you deserve a break."

"That's no, ok, wait, that wasn't what I was expecting. What do you mean?" Buffy said, sitting down on the steps.

"Your life has been miserable without Angel. It was okay with Riley, and tense with Spike, but you were happy with Angel, and I figured, after saving the world you deserved a break. I'm your sister, which means that I like making your life miserable, but it's not fun when you're already so miserable, I can't make it worse! I only want to see you happy, Buffy, because you're the only family I have left, and I feel bad about you."

"Thanks," Buffy said sarcastically.

"That didn't come out right! I mean… what do I mean?"

"I certainly don't know, and I don't think you do, either."

"Give me a minute… ok, yeah, you might not realize it, but when your tense, it makes others around you tense, and when you miserable, it makes others miserable. And I, personally, am tired of being miserable, so for that to change, you need to be happy, and you're not happy without Angel."

"Thanks, Dawn, but I'm supposed to look out for you, not the other way around."

"Yeah, but I took care of you yesterday. You, in the bathroom, you gave up your big sister status, and I took over, and I'm not giving it up, without a fight."

"You can have it! By all means, take it! And take the slayer bit while you're at it! I am tired of it!" Buffy joked.

"See, I like you better this way."

"Thank you, Dawn, for everything. Now, I think I have some stuff to do…"

"Like what, swap spit with Angel?"

"Hey! Well, yeah, maybe. Oh, I forgot all about Willow, she's so depressed, and I'm happy! Why does this always happen? When Oz left, I found Riley, and when Riley left, she was with Tara, and when Angel left, she was happy with Oz!"

"I'll take care of Willow. What do you think this calls for, ice cream?"

"Hey, you can take the big sister gig, but you can't take my best friend gig!"

"Fine! I won't help!"

"Good!"

"I love you, ya know that?"

"Eww!" Buffy said, giggling, "Yeah, your pretty cool sometimes yourself. I can see me loving you sometimes."

"But not all the time?"

"Never!"

That afternoon, they had a burial ceremony for the girls. They said a few words, about how courageous they were in the danger of battle, and that they would be missed. Spike, in all the free time he seemed to have, had made crosses with the girls names on them. He looked very smug with himself at everyone's surprise, even if his hands were bandaged. Angel, with the help of Buffy, even came down to the ceremony.

The days started blending together in a rhythm, Buffy had called in a leave of absence from the school, but Dawn and Amanda still went. Angel got stronger and stronger every day, and Buffy bearly ever left his side. She had moved a cot into her room, where she supposedly slept, but Dawn would have bet anything she didn't use it.

After a week, Angel started getting out of bed for longer and longer periods of time, but he still seemed to need Buffy's support, because there she was, tucked under his arm.

"Buffy, I've been thinking…" Angel said, one night, stroking her hair. He was in the bed, she was on top of the bed, next to him. She was tempted to change that, but the memories of the first time sharing a bed with him still haunted her. She knew nothing would, could come of it now, but the memories were still there, haunting her.

"About what?"

"About us. Soon, I'll be strong enough to stay out of bed all day, I am now, and I'll even be able to walk on my own." He teased her. "It's time, I think, to look towards our future, Buffy, now that I can promise you one."

"I'm just happy living one day at a time, just as I was before."

"But now, I can give you a future, and I desperately want to. Buffy, I don't have anything for you, yet, but would you marry me? Don't answer yet, not until I have a ring for you, just think about it, ok?"

"Angel, you've already given me a ring! I don't need another." She leaned over him, and rummaged in the drawer to her night stand. She pulled out the Claddagh Ring he had given her, and handed it to him. "Of course I'll marry you, silly, I love you!" He slipped the ring onto her finger. He reached up to kiss her, and she moved into his embrace.

A few hours later, she woke, with a start. Her whole body was trembling. She was soo cold! She panicked, and rolled over. Angel was lying there, so peaceful. She sighed in relief. She thought for a moment that old habits died hard, but she was wrong. She slipped out from under the covers, to close the window. She turned, to find the door wide open! She blanched, and grabbed the closest thing at hand, to cover herself.

"Don't worry, luv, I've seen it all before."

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough, luv."

"Get out of here!"

"I just couldn't believe that I'd lost you, until I saw it with my own eyes."

"You saw! You watched! You're sick! You are one sick bastard, Spike! You need some help!" She hissed.

"I'm sick, because I love you. Always will. What I said in the kitchen, I didn't know what I was saying."

"Don't you dare blame this on me! Spike, can't you just be happy for me? I so wasn't myself when I was with you. I'm happier now, happier than I've been in a long time. Please, just leave me alone."

"I'll try, if you're sure that's what you want."

"Yes. Go. Please." He disappeared into the shadows of the hall. Buffy hurriedly closed the door, then leaned against it. She sighed.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Angel asked sleepily. He propped himself up on one elbow.

"Nothing, I was cold, and the door had blown open." She fibbed, hating lying to him. Hating herself for doing it. She promised she'd tell him eventually.

"If you're so cold, come on back over here, and I'll do my best to warm you up." He enticed. She consented, slipping between the covers, into the hollow under his arm.

She stared at him lovingly for awhile.

"What?" he asked finally.

"You're still here." He kissed her lips in answer. "Oh, It's so good to have you back," she said, inhaling his distinct scent.

"You have no idea how good it feels to be back. No matter what happens, remember, I'll always love you. I love you with every piece of my now beating heart," he whispered in her ear.

She turned her face upwards, towards his. "Just kiss me, hold me, and don't let go."

"Never," he promised.


	15. Chapter 15 Surprises

The next morning, she led him downstairs, and they announced to everyone that they were engaged. Every one made a big deal out of it, and everyone was happy for them, except Spike, who was nowhere to be found.

The days passed unchecked, as they planned for Buffy's big day, as Dawn called it. They set the date for the middle of June, almost two months after the battle had ended. There was so much to plan, and a ton of shopping to do. Buffy reveled in it all, she had never been so happy in all her life.

A week before the wedding, Monday, Buffy woke up early, sick to her stomach. She stayed in the bathroom pretty much for the rest of the day. She had to hand over the last bit of planning to Willow and Dawn, which she wasn't happy about. Her stomach seemed to have gotten an encore, because it repeated its performance for pretty much the rest of the school week.

"Oh, great, the Flu's going to wreck my perfect day!" Buffy wailed to Willow. They were sitting on the floor in the bathroom, going over last minute details for the wedding the next day.

"Oh, Buffy! This really isn't my business, but have you missed your…" she whispered the last word, "period?"

"It's only a day or so late, and it's never very consistent. Just like vampires, I can't rely on it," Buffy told her, trying to encourage her.

"Have you and Angel…" Willow let her sentence trail off, she knew that Buffy knew what she was asking.

"Well…" Buffy said awkwardly, "Yeah,… I mean… we've," She took a big breath. "Ok, we're both big grown up girls here, we can say all those naughty words we were told not to. Yes, Willow, Angel and I have…" she chickened out " Slept together."

"Buffy, have you ever thought that you could be…"

"Of course not, Willow! I can't be, because it would totally ruin my slaying! No. Of course I'm not!" Buffy said, without conviction.

"See, I told you."

Buffy looked at the test in her hand in shock. She then had to throw up again.

"I've got to tell Angel," she murmured in disbelief, in between bouts, when her stomach had calmed down a bit. She made to get up, but another bout overtook her, and she stayed on the floor.

"You stay right here, I'll go get him for you," Willow ordered, once she realized Buffy wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

"Buffy, honey, what's wrong? Willow said you needed to see me. Should we set back the wedding awhile?" Angel asked, coming in, closing the door behind him, and kneeling beside her. He waited for her to stop throwing up, then wiped her chin and mouth gently with a washcloth.

"No, we don't have to set the wedding back, I hope. I was hoping I would be telling you this sometime, but not this soon, not right after I've gotten you back. Maybe after we were married awhile, but I guess I wasn't given a choice in the matter. There's no easy way to say this, Angel, I'm pregnant." She quickly turned back to the toilet.

"That's great news, Buffy! I was also hoping for this, not this soon, but that's okay. We're not a young and immature couple, we can deal with this. And I'll do my best to support us all, I promise you that," he said, rubbing her back.

"Angel, who exactly is going to hire you! You don't have a résumé, you don't have an updated education, how is this going to work? I don't know how long I'll be working at the school, I was hired for my slayer knowledge, not my college diploma!" she cried, close to tears, once she had finished.

"Shhh! Shh! It'll be ok! I might not have a school education, but I lived through some major events, ok? I was turned before the American Revolution. I lived through it, as well as the Civil War, and the Boxer Rebellion, and many other big happenings. I can go to school, or, maybe Willow could procure a diploma for me. Then I could go to Sunnydale U, studying might be a problem, but Willow can help me with that. We'll be okay, Buffy, we'll be fine."

He tried to stay with her for the rest of the day, until Willow remembered where he was, and came and kicked him out, muttering something about it was bad luck for a groom to see his bride the day before the wedding. He was shipped off to Xander's for the rest of the day, and night, until the wedding. Xander, even if he didn't go through with it, he had the most experience with weddings.

As soon as he set his overnight bag in the door, he was gone, saying he had to do something. He was going to go for a walk, but he found himself inside a church. On a whim, he entered the sinners box, waited for the priest to enter.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned," he said, the words rolling off his tongue without thought.

"How long has it been since your last confession, my child?" the man in the connecting box asked.

"Father, I have sinned in so many ways, and not in the normal human sense," he said, feeling awkward.

"It's ok, my son, I was told of your coming, I know who you are, what you were. Now tell me all, and you'll be one step closer to forgiveness in the eyes of our Father, the Lord." So Angel sat there in that small booth, for almost the whole night, confessing to every murder he had ever committed, of everything he had done. Sometime, during the night, he felt as if a great burden had been lifted. Once he left, only hours to go before the wedding, he felt relieved that he had finally found forgiveness.

The next morning, after drinking some herbal tea, she felt better. She drank some more tea, chamomile, and lavender, and other things, with Giles' insistence, as well as Willow's. No one knew yet, except Willow and Angel, but she would have to tell them eventually, after the wedding.

Dawn was staring at her across the table while she sipped her tea.

"What!" Buffy snapped, her hormones and pre-wedding jitters getting the best of her.

"Your not sick, are you?"

"No, I'm not, Dawn."

"I knew it! I just knew it! You haven't been using that cot you dragged into your room!"

"Dawn, I slept on the cot till he proposed. Mostly because I didn't feel comfortable, but also because of the memories of the first time, what he did. Those memories still haunt me sometimes. But, yes, after he proposed, the cot was shoved into my closet, forgotten."

"I knew it! See, I'm smarter than you think!"

"Yeah, whatever."

For a "spur of the moment" wedding, theirs was rather nice. They had decided not to get married in a church or chapel, to many bad memories for Angel, and to many crosses for him to be comfortable around, so they chose, of all places, the mansion Angel had lived in when he was in Sunnydale. They had cleaned it up, aired it out, and kicked out any vampire that was persistent enough after all the crosses any holy water were set up to deter them, and Buffy thought it was perfect.

There were to be married by the fireplace. Angel looked gorgeous in the tuxedo he'd rented, and Buffy looked stunning in her white, nearly strapless dress. She had her hair pulled back in a simple bun, and she was wearing diamond earrings, her mother's. She had on the cross he had given her so many years ago. Wisps of hair had started to fall out of place, framing her face in golden highlights. She had on a simple veil.. It floated about her face. The straps were there only as decoration, they were pearls on a thread, trailing over her beautiful skin, and the train was enormous, Dawn had a hard time carrying it.

Dawn looked so mature in her dress, it was pink, and it was two layers, one of silk, and the tope layer was of white lace. There were snowflakes, or stars embroidered in beads that caught the light as she moved. She sleeves were off the shoulder, puffy straps.

Her Dad had shown up the night before, and after talking to Angel in private, had decided that Angel was good enough for his daughter. He stood nearby now, beaming at his happy daughter.

They had decided on a simple ceremony, and had written their own vows, which, as Willow put it, sighing, was very romantic.

"Buffy Ann Summers, by saying that we've been through a lot doesn't begin to cover what we've been through. And by saying we have a love that can, and has withstood the test of time doesn't begin to describe what we have. And I swear, that no matter what happens, there is nothing that we can't handle together."

"Angel, I've dealt with a lot of demons, inside and out, as well as other things, and I've been loved by a lot of people. But I thank the gods, by name, that I decided to save my heart for 'the one,' and I believe with all my heart, I've found my soul mate in you. I know that nothing could stand between us, no matter what, and nothing can break us apart, as long as we don't let it, and we have love in our heart."

Then they kissed, standing there by the fireplace, with the sun streaming in through the windows and doorways, bouncing off the golden highlights in her hair, and Angel knew that, after his time on Earth, searching for forgiveness, and a place where he could live eternally, he had finally found heaven.

Angel had picked the music for their first dances as newly weds, and as the first notes of the pop ballad "Don't Tell Me it's Not Worth Fighting For" By Bryan Adams, and he took her in his arms. Then as they faded into "God must have spent a little more time on you" By NSYNC, and her eyes lit up, he knew he had made the right decisions. Angel had obviously taken the time to memorize the lyrics. He sang them to her as they danced on the empty dance floor.

"He must have spent a little more time on you, and I'm glad that I waited, even if it seemed like forever, because the wait was more than worth it," he whispered as the last note of the song faded away.

Everybody clapped, some cried, like Anya, and Piper. The D.J, Xander, put on a song that they normally listened to, one with a faster beat, but they stayed in each other's arms, oblivious to the rest of the world around them, dancing to their own tune.

Eight months later, Buffy was a wreck, and understandably so. And contrasting to her wedding, she felt hideous! Her hair was pulled back, unbrushed and sweaty. Her face was also sweaty, with sweat running down her face. She had never been in so much pain before, no matter what demon she'd faced. She was tired and crying.

"Come on, honey, one more push! Just one more, last one! You can do it, sweetie!" Piper called, from her left side. They had been conversing back and forth, because Piper knew about the dangers of bringing a child into an already dangerous environment.

"No! I can't!" Buffy screamed in agony. She was gripping Angel's hand with slayer strength, on accident, and he had lost feeling in it awhile ago, after it had cracked.

"Last contraction, honey, come on! One last push! Push now! Push as hard as you can!" The nurse told her.

She pushed with all her might, then lay back, breathing heavily. She was rewarded for her efforts by the wail of a baby.

"It's a girl!" the nurse said, wrapping her baby up in a blanket. She brought her over for her to see, and she was so happy. Life these past eight months hadn't been easy, she had had to rely on Spike of all people to patrol, after she was just to heavy too do it. Angel, after applying to take the test had been refused once, but then he was able to take it. He was now working at night, his preferred time, and studying to go to college. Sometimes she hadn't been sure she could make it work, this having a real life thing.

But looking at her baby girl, and then staring into the eyes of her lover, her soul mate, her husband, she knew from that moment, that everything would be all right.

**The end**


End file.
